" 


SB 


UC-NRLF 


SB    73 


THE  HORTICULTURAL  STATUS 


OF  THE 


GENUS  VACC1NIUM 


WELTON   MARKS   MUNSON 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


THE  HORTICULTURAL  STATUS 


THK 


GENUS  VACCINIUM 


A  Thesis    Presented    to   the    University    Faculty  of 

Cornell  University    for  the    Degree    of 

Doctor  of  Philosophy, 


BY 

WELTON    MARKS   MUNSON. 


ITHACA,   N.  Y. 
1901 


Sfe 


c 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introductory    i 

Common  names   I 

Distribution    2 

Historical  notes  3 

Uses  of  the  fruit  4 

Use  for  ornamental  planting / 

Propagation    8 

Cultivation 10 

The  blueberry  industry   12 

White  blueberries    18 

Botanical   notes ; 20 

The  natural  groups  of  species 21 

A  horticultural  classification   23 

The  most  important  species : 25 

Supplementary  list  of  American  species 42 

The  outlook 42 

Bibliography 43 

Index 47 


359725 


THE    HORTICULTURAL    STATUS    OF   THE    GENUS 
VACCINIUM. 

The  members  of  the  genus  Vaccinium,  though  indigenous  to 
this  country,  and  supplying  in  large  quantities  fruit  which  is 
surpassed  in  quality  by  but  few  of  the  more  generally  cultivated 
species,  have  received  comparatively  little  attention  from  horti- 
culturists. In  1898  a  report  upon  the  Blueberry  in  Maine  was 
published  by  the  Maine  Experiment  Station.  The  object  of 
the  present  paper  is  to  present  as  concisely  as  may  be  the  exact 
status  of  the  group  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
if  possible  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  these  plants  in  such  a 
way  as  shall  insure  a  more  just  appreciation  of  their  horticultural 
value. 

There  is  much  confusion  in  the  vernacular  names  applied  to 
members  of  the  genus  Vaccinium.  The  terms  "Bilberry,"  and 
"Whortleberry"  usually  mentioned  as  "common  names"  by 
American  writers,  are  seldom  or  never  heard  among  the  common 
people  in  this  country,  while  "Huckleberry"  is  often  used  indis- 
criminately for  plants  of  this  genus  and  for  the  Gaylussacias. 
In  the  central  states  the  term  Huckleberry  is  usually  applied  to 
Vaccinium  corymbosum,  while  Blueberry  is  given  to  the  low 
growing  species  like  Canadense  and  Pennsylvanicmn.  In  New 
England,  Huckleberry  is  reserved  for  species  of  Gaylussacia, 
while  Blueberry  is  applied  to  the  lower  growing  species  as  above, 
and  High-bush  Blueberry  to  corymbosum.  There  is  no  satis- 
factory explanation  of  the  word  huckleberry,  which  in  English 
works  occurs  only  in  those  of  recent  date.1  The  red  berried 
species  are,  in  general,  referred  to  as  cranberries. 

1  The  Latin  writers  of  the  middle  ages  generally  referred  to  plants  of  the  genus 
Vaccinium  as  Myrtillus,  and  the  fruit  was  known  as  myrtleberry.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  term  Whortleberry  is  a  corruption  from  myrtleberry  (Cf.  Prior, 
Pop.  Names,  Brit.  Pits.  121)  and  that  the  American  colonists  further  changed  the 
name  to  "hurtleberry."  The  transition  from  hurtleberry  to  huckleberry  was  easy 
by  simply  dropping  the  first  r,  i.  e.,  hutleberry.  Others  derive  the  name  Whortle- 
berry from  the  Anglo-Saxon  heort-berg,  hart-berry,  or  as  we  would  say,  deer-berry. 
The  question  is  discussed  by  Sturtevant  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Massachusetts 
Horticultural  Society,  1800,  p.  18. 


•'  "•  :..;,"••,../  2 

In  England  the  common  names,  as  collated  by  Sturtevantr 
are:  Whorts  or  Whortleberries  and  Bilberries;  in  France, 
Airelle,  Aurelle,  Myrtilles,  Myrtilles  des  bois,  Bluete;  or  in 
Brittany  Lucets,  and  in  Normandy  Mawrets.  In  Sweden  they 
are  called,  in  Upland,  Blabar;  in  Smoland,  Slimier;  in  Scania, 
Bollion ;  in  Lapland,  Zirre  and  Zerre.  In  Brabant  the  usual 
terms  are,  Crakebesein,  Haverbesein  and  Postelbesein ;  in  Ger- 
many, Heydelbeeren,  Bickbeeren,  Blawbeeren,  Schwartzbeeren ; 
or  for  some  species,  Drunkelbeeren,  Rauschbeeren,  Grosse 
Heidelbeeren,  Moosheidelbeeren,  etc. ;  in  Italy,  Myrtillo ;  in 
Russia,  Ticherniza,  Pjaniza,  Goluble,  etc.1 

DISTRIBUTION. 

The  genus  includes  about  125  species  of  wide  geographic  dis- 
tribution, extending  from  the  Arctic  circle  to  boreal  sub-tropical 
regions,  and  the  high  mountains  of  the  tropics ;  most  common 
in  North  America  and  the  Himalayas.  There  are  in  North 
America  proper  about  twenty-five  species  and  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America  as  many  more.  The  Himalayan  region  is  par- 
ticularly rich  in  species  many  of  which  are  epiphytic.  With 
very  few  exceptions  (e.  g.  erythrinum  in  Java  and  emirnense  in 
Madagascar)  the  genus  is  unrepresented  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere and  in  the  lower  regions  of  the  tropics. 

The  most  widely  distributed  species  are,  perhaps,  Myrtillus 
and  uliginosum,  which  occur  in  middle  and  northern  Europe, 
Asia  (except  in  the  central  part  from  the  Himalayas  to  Thian- 
schan,  where  all  vacciniums  are  absent),  Canada  and  central 
North  America  southward  to  New  York  and  Colorado,  and  west- 
ward to  Alaska.  Uliginosum,  especially,  is  confined  to  northern 
and  mountainous  regions.  Vitis-Idaa,  also,  has  a  wide  distribu- 
tion somewhat  similar  to  Myrtillus.  It  is  common  in  the  higher 
woodlands  and  mountains  of  rmd-Jl!e  and  southern  Europe,  in 
America  southward  to  New  England,  Lake  Superior  and  British 
Columbia. 

In  several  places  in  Germany,  as  stated  by  Drude,2  wild 
hybrids  between  the  foregoing  species  and  V.  intermedium, 
Ruthe,  are  not  uncommon.  The  hybrids  have  evergreen  foliage. 


1  Stnrtevant,  Trans.  Mass.  Hort.  Soc.,  1890, 18. 
3  Eng.  and  Prant.  Pflanzenfarailien,  4:51. 


Though  erythrocarpon,  of  the  southern  Alleghanies,  is  not 
found  in  the  old  world,  a  very,  closely  allied  species,  Japonicum, 
is  found  in  central  Japan  and  China — these  two  species  forming 
a  unique  type  intermediate  between  the  blueberries  and  the  cran- 
berries. In  Japan  Vaccinium  is  numerous  in  species,  but,  with 
the  exception  of  the  red  fruited  V.  Japonicum  and  the  black 
fruited  V.  ciliatum,  they  are  not  very  abundant  and  are  mostly 
confined  to  alpine  summits  where  the  species  are  found  which 
in  the  extreme  north  encircle  the  earth ;  and  blueberries  nowhere 
cover  the  forest  floor  with  the  dense  undergrowth  which  is 
common  in  our  northern  woods.1 

Of  the  purely  American  species,  the  most  important  ones  are : 
in  the  East,  caspitosum,  Canadense,  corymbosum,  Pennsyl- 
vanicum  and  vacillans,  together  with  the  cranberries,  macrocar- 
pon,  Qxycoccus  and  Vitis-Idaa;  in  the  South,  Myrsinites  and 
virgatum;  in  the  Northwest,  myrtilloides  and  ovalifplium. 


HISTORICAL    NOTES. 

The  vacciniums  have  been  strangely  overlooked  alike  by  horti- 
culturists and  by  historians.  Pliny,  Vergil  and  Theophrastus 
make  brief  reference  to  them;  Dodoens,2  in  1578,  and  Gerarde3 
and  Parkinson  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  give 
brief  discussions  of  several  forms.  Parkinson  says  :4  "There 
are  divers  sorts  of  these  low  shrubs  which  must  all  go  under 
the  name  of  Whorts  or  Whortleberries,  although  there  is  much 
difference  between  them."  He  then  describes  nine  different 
sorts,  the  first  two  being  referred  to  as  "Bilberries." 

In  America  the  fruit  must  have  been  used  extensively  by  the 
Indians  in  colonial  times,  though  there  are  few  records  of 
such  use.  Parkinson  refers  to  Champlain  who  in  1615  found 
the  Indians  near  Lake  Huron  gathering  blueberries  for  their 
winter  store.  Kalm  speaks  of  the  Indians  drying  the  fruit  by 
the  sunshine  or  by  the  fireside  for  winter  use.  Roger  Williams 
mentions:  "Attitaash  (Whortleberries)  of  which  there  are 
divers  sorts ;  sweet  like  currants ....  Sautaash  are  these  currants 

T  Sargent,  Gard.'  &  For.  6 :254. 
a  Lyte's  Dodoens,  670.  (1578) 
8  Herballe,  ed.  2, 1418.  (1633) 
*Theatrum  Botanicum,  1459.  (1640) 


dried  by  the  natives  and  so  preserved  all  the  year ;  which  they 
beat  to  powder  and  mingle  it  with  their  parched  meal,  and  make 
a  delicate  dish  which  they  call  Sautauthig,  which  is  as  swreet  to 
them  as  plum  or  spice  cake  to  the  English."1 

Until  very  recently  no  attempt  has  ever  been  made  at  improve- 
ment by  cultivation. 

USES    OF    THE    FRUIT. 

As  before  noted,  the  records  concerning  the  uses  and  distribu- 
tion of  the  vacciniums  are  meagre.  Enough  is  known,  how- 
ever, to  indicate  that  from  the  earliest  times  various  species  have 
been  recognized  as  of  value  for  food  or  ornament.  Plinv2 
mentions  the  use  of  vaccinia  to  dye  the  garments  of  bond-slaves 
to  a  purple  color. 

Dodoens,  in  1578,  says  :3  "With  the  juyce  of  them  (especially 
of  the  black  kinde)  is  made  a  certayne  medicine  called  of  the 
apothecaries  Rob,  the  which  is  good  to  be  holden  in  the  mouth 

against  great  drieth  and  thirst  in  hoat,  agues Fen  or 

Marrische  (marsh)  Whortes  doe  also  quenche  thirste,  and  are 
good  against  all  evil  inflammation  or  heat  of  the  blood." 

Gerarde  also,  in  1633,  writes  :4  "The  juice  of  the  black 
Whortleberries  is  boyled  till  it  become  thicke  and  is  prepared  or 
kept  by  adding  honey  or  sugar  unto  it :  the  apothecaries  call  it 
Rob,  which  is  preferred  in  all  things  before  the  raw  berries 

themselves They  be  goode  for  a  hot  stomacke,  they  quench 

thirst,  and  allay  the  heate  of  burning  agues The  people  of 

Cheshire  do  eat  the  blacke  Whortles  in  creame  and  milke  as  in 

these  south  parts  we  eat  strawberries The  Red  Whortle 

is  not  of  such  a  pleasant  taste  as  the  blacke,  and  therefore  not 
so  much  used  to  be  eaten ;  but  they  make  the  fairest  carnation 
color  in  the  World." 

Parkinson,  in  1640,  quotes  Gerarde  concerning  the  medicinal 
value  of  the  "bilberries,"  and  says  further:3  "With  the  juyce 
of  the  berries  Painters  do  color  paper  or  cards,  doe  make  a  kind 

1  Roger  Williams'  Key,  231;  cited  by  Tuckerman,  foot  note  in  Josselyn's  N.  E. 
Rarities,  92. 

•  Lib.  16  cop.  18,  cited  by  Gerarde,  Herballe,  ed.  2,  1419. 

•  Lyte's  Dodoens,  670. 
«  Herballe,  ed.  2,1419. 

•  Theatrum  Botanicuin,  1459. 


of  purple  blew  colour,  putting  thereto  some  allome  and  Galles, 
whereby  they  can  make  it  lighter  or  sadder  as  they  please.  And 
some  poor  folkes,  as  Tragus  sheweth,  doe  take  a  potfuii  of  the 
juyce  strained  whereunto  an  ounce  of  Allome,  foure  spoonfulls 
of  good  Wine  vinegar,  and  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  the  waste 
of  the  copper  forgings,  being  put  together,  and  boyled  all 
together,  they  put  their  cloth,  wooll,  thred,  or  yarne  therein, 
letting  it  lye  for  a  good  while,  which  being  taken  out  and  hung 
up  to  dry  and  afterwards  washed  with  cold  water  will  leave  the 
like  Turkic  blew  colour,  and  if  they  would  have  it  sadder  they 
put  thereto  in  the  boyling  an  ounce  of  broken  Galles." 

As  already  noted,  the  most  widely  distributed  member  of  the 
group  is  V.  Myrtillus,  and  this  species  is  very  generally  used  as 
an  article  of  diet  or  in  making  drinks.  In  the  Orkneys  the  fruit 
is  large  and  is  used  for  wine.1  The  Scotch  Highlanders  eat  the 
berries  in  milk  and  "make  them  into  tarts  and  jellies^  which  last 
they  mix  with  their  whiskey  to  give  it  a  relish  to  strangers."2 
In  England  they  are  found  in  the  markets  and  "are  eaten  m 
tarts  or  with  cream  or  made  into  jelly,"3  while  in  Poland, 
"mixed  with  wood  strawberries  and  eaten  with  new  milk  they 
are  considered  a  great  delicacy."4  In  France  they  are  esteemed 
as  a  fruit  and  are  used  for  coloring  wine.5 

The  berries  are  also  of  considerable  importance  for  food  in 
Germany,  Siberia,  and  with  the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

V.  uliginosiim,  after  Myrtillus  the  most  widely  distributed 
species,  has  large,  juicy,  black  fruits,  which  are  eatable  but  not 
agreeable  in  flavor  as  ordinarily  found,  and  are  commonly 
believed  to  be  unwholesome.  Gmelin  reports  their  extensive 
use  in  Siberia,  though  there  they  are  believed  to  promote  intoxi- 
cation. It  is  probable,  as  is  known  to  be  the  case  with  V.  Vitis- 
Id&a,  that  in  the  far  North  the  quality  is  better  than  further 
south.  The  western  Eskimos,  according  to  Seeman,  collect  the 
berries  and  freeze  for  winter  use.6  Of  the  species,  London 
says  :7  "In  France  they  are  used  to  color  wines  red ;  and  in 

Pickson,  Pr.  Essays  Hort.  Soc.,  ser.  2,  7 :132,  cited  by  Sturtevant,  1.  c. 

Lightfoot,  Fl.  Scot.  1:201,  cited  by  Sturtevant,  1.  c. 

London,  Arb.  et  Fruit.    2:1157. 

Ibid,  1158. 

Aspelin,  Fl.  Oecon.  520  (1784)  cited  by  Sturtevant,  1.  c. 
"Sturtevant  1.  c. 
7  Loudon,  Arb.  et  Fruit.    2:1158. 


Siberia  and  Sweden  they  furnish  an  ardent  spirit  that  is  highly 
volatile  and  intoxicating.  The  leaves  are  added  to  Lyco  podium 
alpinum  by  the  Icelanders ;  and  a  yellow  dye  for  coloring  wool- 
lens is  produced  by  an  infusion  of  the  two  plants." 

Of  Vitis-Id&a  Loudon  says  :x  "The  berries  are  scarcely  to 
be  eaten  raw,  but  they  are  made  into  pies  in  Derbyshire,  and  in 
Sweden  a  rob  or  jelly  is  made  from  them  which  is  eaten  with 
all  kinds  of  roast  meat.  In  Sweden  this  preserve  is  also  con- 
sidered an  excellent  medicine  in  colds,  sore  throats,  and  all 
irritations  of  the  mouth  or  fauces.  In  Siberia  the  berries  are 
macerated  during  the  autumn  and  part  of  the  winter  in  water ; 
and  afterwards  they  are  eaten  in  a  raw  state,  and  fermented 
along  with  barley  or  rye,  and  a  spirit  distilled  from  them ;  or  with 
honey,  and  a  wine  produced.  Sweetmeats  are  also  made  of 
them  with  honey  or  sugar,  which  in  1814  we  found  in  frequent 
use  at  Moscow  at  balls  and  masquerades.  The  berries  of  this 
plant  form  an  important  article  of  commerce  in  the  sea  ports 
bordering  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  whence  they  are  sent  to  the  south 
of  Europe  along  with  cranberries." 

In  the  colder  parts  of  N'orth  America,  and  along  the  coast  of 
Maine2  the  berries  of  this  species  are  highly  prized  for  food  and 
are  esteemed  above  the  common  cranberry  for  jellies  and  sauces. 

The  berries  of  V.  ovalifolium  are  used  largely  by  the  natives 
of  the  Northwest  in  making  a  dainty  which  they  call  le  brou. 
The  berries  are  gathered  before  they  are  quite  ripe,  pressed  into 
a  cake,  dried  and  laid  by  for  winter  use.  "For  use  a  quantity 
is  put  into  a  vessel  of  cold  water  and  stirred  rapidly  until  it 
appears  somewhat  like  soap  suds.  It  is  pleasant  to  the  taste, 
with  a  slightly  bitter  flavor."3  Funston,  in  a  recent  report  on 
the  flora  of  Alaska,  says  concerning  this  species  :4  "A  shrub 
four  feet  in  height,  forms  a  large  part  of  the  undergrowth  near 
the  coast  (Yakutat  Bay,  Alaska).  The  dark  purple  berries, 
rather  larger  than  peas,  are  collected  in  great  quantities  by  the 
Indians  who  use  them  fresh  and  preserve  them  for  winter, 
drying  the  fresh  berries  by  artificial  heat.  In  September,  imme- 
diately after  the  close  of  the  fishing  season,  nearly  all  the  women 

*  Arb.  et  Fruit,  2:1165. 

8  Harvey,  Trans.  Maine  Pom.  Soc.,  1895,  52. 

8  R.  Brown,  Jr.,  Bot.  Soc.,  Edinburgh  9:384. 

*Contrib.  U.  S.  Nat'l  Herb.  3:No.  6,  cited  by  Card,  and  For.  9:70,  (1896). 


and  children  devote  themselves  to  collecting  and  drying  blue- 
berries for  winter." 

Of  all  the  American  species  used  for  food,  the  most  important 
are,  perhaps,  corymbosum,  Pennsylvanicum,  Canadense,  and 
vactilans.  The  first  of  these,  the  High-bush  Blueberry,  or 
Swamp  Blueberry,  or  "Huckleberry"  of  the  middle  west,  is  of 
firm  texture,  good  size  and  excellent  flavor.  The  shrub  is  easily 
transplanted,  grows  rapidly  on  any  good  soil  and,  more  than 
any  other  species,  shows  a  marked  tendency  to  vary  in  the  size, 
shape  and  quality  of  its  fruit.  It  is  the  natural  starting  point 
in  attempts  to  add  the  blueberry  to  the  list  of  cultivated  fruits. 
During  the  past  few  years  it  has  received  considerable  attention 
as  a  garden  fruit,  especially  in  New  England.1 

The  other  species  named  grow  mostly  on  uplands — Pennsyl- 
vanicum especially,  on  dry  sandy  "barrens" — and  form  the  bulk 
of  the  blueberry  crop  as  seen  in  the  cities  or  at  the  canning 
factories. 

USE    FOR    ORNAMENTAL,    PLANTING. 

Among  the  plants  which  lend  tone  to  the  landscape  in  October 
and  November  by  reason  of  their  bright  foliage,  many  of  the 
species  of  Vaccinium  may  be  included,  the  brilliant  red,  crimson 
and  orange  colors  often  persisting  much  longer  than  the  bright 
hued  leaves  of  a  majority  of  other  plants. 

Of  the  ornamental  species  none  are  more  strikingly  beautiful 
late  in  the  autumn  than  the  common  high  bush  blueberry — 
V.  corymbosum.  When  well  ^rown  it  is  a  stout,  thick,  spread- 
ing bush  eight  to  ten  feet  high.  The  plant  is  beautiful  when  in 
flower ;  the  fruit  is  attractive  and  of  the  best  quality ;  and  the 
bright  scarlet  and  crimson  effects  in  late  autumn,  rivalling  the 
sumach  in  brilliancy,  are  unsurpassed.  As  an  ornamental  plant 
the  species  deserves  a  place  in  every  garden. 

Pennsylvanicum  also  brightens  waste  places  for  a  short  time, 
but  drops  its  foliage  too  earlv  to  be  worthy  <jf  planting  as  an 
under  shrub.  The  same  is  true  of  Canadense,  which  is  in  many 
respects  similar.  Staminewn  (the  Deerberry),  though  early 
deciduous,  is  attractive  when  in  bloom,  and  f;iroughout  the 
summer,  by  reason  of  its  graceful  habit.  The  deerberry  is  found 

1  The  Blueberry  in  Maine,  Rep.  Me.  Ag.  Exp.  Sta.,  1898, 170. 


8 


over  a  wide  range  in  the  northern  states  and  in  the  mountains 
south.  Though  usually  found  on  gravelly  soil,  it  will  thrive  in 
any  good  garden  soil,  and  it  is  one  of  the  very,  few  ornamental 
shrubs  specially  suited  for  densely  shaded  situations.  Although 
not  abundant  in  our  woods,  it  is  not  rare  and  its  chaste  beauty 
entitles  it  to  a  place  among  valuable  native  ornamental  plants. 

Arboreum,  introduced  into  the  Kew  Gardens  by  John  Cree  in 
1765,  forms  an  irregular  shrub  too  diffuse  and  straggling  to  be 
of  value  except  in  masses  at  the  south.  Hirsutum,  from  the 
mountainous  regions  of  North  Carolina  and  Alabama,  is  as 
beautiful  in  its  autumn  coloring  as  is  corymbosum  and  like  that 
species  retains  its  foliage  late  in  the  season.  Vitis-Idcea  and 
uliginosuwij  with  their  shining  box-like  foliage,  are  effective  as 
edging  for  the  shrubbery  border.  Ovatum  is  characterized  by 
Douglas1  as  "one  of  California's  most  beautiful  hedge  plants," 
but  it  has  as  yet  received  little  attention  in  cultivation. 

PROPAGATION. 

The  spread  of  any  plant  in  cultivation  is,  to  a  large  extent, 
dependent  upon  the  activity  of  progressive  nurserymen.  If 
these  men  find  a  given  class  of  plants  difficult  of  propagation, 
such  plants  are  seldom  widely  cultivated.  In  the  past  one  chief 
drawback  to  the  dissemination  of  the  blueberries  has  been  the 
difficulty,  or  supposed  difficulty,  of  propagation.  The  few 
nurserymen  who  have  offered  them  for  sale  have  usually 
depended  upon  the  native  heaths  and  pastures  for  their  supply 
of  plants,  rather  than  upon  the  nursery  rows.  The  results  have 
been  most  discouraging,  and  the  blueberries,  though  among  the 
finest  of  fruits,  are  almost  unknown  in  cultivation. 

In  the  case  of  the  cranberries,  propagation  is  performed  almost 
exclusively  by  cuttings.  With  the  blueberries  grafting  is  easily 
performed  and  in  this  way  specially  choice  individuals  may 
be  perpetuated.  For  general  purposes,  however,  seedlings  or 
division  will  be  used.  Propagation  by  seed  naturally  requires 
care  and  skill,  but  is  entirely  feasible,  and  the  method  may  be 
detailed  in  this  connection.  At  the  Arnold  Arboretum  Jackson 
Dawson  has  for  many  years  grown  seedling  blueberries,  and  his 
method  is  essentially  as  follows  :2 

»  Gard.  ami  For.  6 :116,  (1893). 
1  Cf .  Country  Gent.  18H5,  660. 


9 

Seed  pans  or  boxes,  about  four  inches  deep  are  half  filled  with 
potsherds  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  sphagnum,  after  which 
a  compost  of  the  following  composition  is  used :  one  part  good 
fibrous  peat  (upland  preferred),  one  part  well  rotted  pasture 
sod,  and  one  part  clean  fine  sand,  free  from  iron  rust.  The  soil 
is  firmed  with  the  hand,  or,  better,  with  a  mallet. 

The  seed,  washed  free  from  pulp  of  freshly  gathered  fruit, 
is  then  sowed  thickly  over  the  surface,  pressed  down  slightly 
with  a  board  and  covered  with  the  slightest  possible  sprinkling 
of  soil.  Over  this  is  put  a  light  covering  of  sphagnum  and  water 
is  applied  with  a  fine  rose.  The  boxes  are  then  placed  in  a  cold 
frame  and  allowed  to  get  a  few  hard  frosts.  About  the  first  of 
January  they  are  brought  to  a  house  with  a  night  temperature 
of  55  to  60°  and  a  range  of  10°  higher  by  day,  watched  carefully 
and  kept  moist  but  not  saturated.  As  soon  as  the  young  seed- 
lings appear,  the  sphagnum  is  gradually  removed  and  a  small 
quantity  of  compost  sifted  in  among  the  plants. 

When  the  first  or  second  true  leaf  has  expanded,  the  seedlings 
are  pricked  out  into  fresh  pans  or  boxes  prepared  like  the  first; 
slight  shade  is  given  on  bright  days  and  the  atmosphere  of  the 
house  kept  moist  by  wetting  down  the  walks.  The  plants  them- 
selves are  syringed  but  slightly,  and  the  temperature  is  kept  as 
even  as  possible. 

About  midsummer  the  plants  are  again  handled  and  the  same 
treatment  as  before  is  continued  until  about  Sept.  I,  when  more 
air  and  less  moisture  are  given,  that  the  plants  may  be  gradually 
hardened  off  and  later  removed  to  a  cold  frame  for  the  winter. 
As  frost  approaches,  the  frames  are  protected  with  mats  that  the 
foliage  may  be  retained  as  long  as  possible. 

After  the  leaves  drop,  the  frames  are  covered  with  a  few 
inches  of  meadow  hay,  or  litter  and  ileft  for  the  winter ;  except 
that  the  frames  are  opened  once  or  twice  each  month  to  admit 
the  air.  Early  in  April  a  bed,  about  18  inches  deep,  of  rich, 
peaty  loam  is  prepared.  In  this  the  young  plants  are  set  four 
to  six  inches  apart,  syringed  morning  and  evening  and  shaded 
by  lath  screens  during  the  brightest  sunshine  until  thoroughly 
established. 

By  the  end  of  August  all  water  is  withheld,  that  the  wood 
may  ripen  off  for  winter.  At  the  approach  of  winter  a  few 


IO 


inches  of  loam  between  the  plants,  to  prevent  heaving,  is  the  only 
protection  required.  The  following  spring,  or  two  years  from 
seed,  they  may  be  planted  out  permanently. 

Mr.  Dawson  has  sown  seed  from  September  to  January  and, 
while  most  of  it  grew  the  first  season,  some  delayed  until  the 
second  year  and  then  came  up  well.  Seed  that  is  kept  until  dry 
and  then  sown,  even  in  autumn  and  kept  in  heat  all  winter,  will 
seldom  germinate  until  the  second  year. 

Notes  from  Maine:  At  the  Maine  Experiment  Station  the 
writer  has  grown  several  hundreds  of  seedlings  and,  while  in 
general  following  the  method  suggested  by  Mr.  Dawson,  has  not 
found  the  extreme  attention  to  details  absolutely  essential.  Our 
practice  has  been  to  wash  the  seed  from  the  pulp  soon  after  har- 
vesting, put  it  in  cloth  sacks  and  stratify  in  moist  sand  until  early 
the  following  spring,  allowing  it  to  freeze  in  the  meantime. 
Seed  pans  with  liberal  provision  for  drainage,  are  then  filled 
with  potting  soil,  to  which  is  added  a  considerable  portion  of  leaf 
mold,  and  the  seed  is  sown  as  before  described.  Partly  from 
force  of  circumstances,  and  partly  from  design,  the  seedlings 
were  not  given  the  best  of  care ;  but  after  being  handled  once 
were,  late  in  the  summer,  transferred  to  the  cold  frame  where 
they  were  simply  covered  with  litter  during  the  winter.  The 
following  spring  they  were  transplanted  into  beds,  shaded  until 
established,  and  made  a  good  growth  during  the  summer. 
Naturally,  however,  the  better  care  will  produce  larger  plants 
and,  where  practicable,  should  be  followed. 

The  low  blueberry  (V.  Pennsylvanicum)  will  usually  fruit  in 
from  three  to  four  years  from  seed,  but  V.  corymbosum  requires 
four  to  six  years. 

CULTIVATION. 

Within  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  various  spasmodic 
attempts  have  been  made  at  the  cultivation  of  the  b'ueberrv; 
though  probably,  as  long  as  the  fields  and  mountain  slopes  yield 
such  an  abundant  natural  supply  as  at  present,  this  section  of 
the  genus  Vaccinium  will  not  receive  the  attention,  in  the  way 
of  cultivation  and  improvement,  that  its  importance  deserves. 
In  the  wild  state  the  fruit  is  certainly  more  worthy  of  notice 
than  was  the  blackberry,  the  raspberry  or  the  currant. 


II 


Some  writers  have  the  mistaken  notion  that  blueberries  require 
a  poor  soil.  One  writer  goes  so  far  as  to  say:  "Blueberries 
will  not  grow  in  cultivated  ground,  neither  can  they  be  grown 
from  cuttings  nor  can  their  tips  be  layered.  The  only  possible 
way  to  transplant  them  is  to  cut  a  sod  from  a  matted  berry  patch 
and  transplant  it  into  sod  ground.  An  old  worn  out  pasture 
makes  the  best  berry  land."1 

Such  a  statement  hardly  needs  refuting.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  plants  will  do  better  if  the  roots  are  not  too  much  dis- 
turbed in  removal,  but  the  poor  sod  land  is  not  a  requisite  to 
successful  culture. 

In  1868  a  successful  amateur  attempt  at  cultivation  was  made 
by  J.  W.  Scott,  Bridgewater,  N.  Y.,  but  pressure  of  other  work 
finally  crowded  it  out.2 

About  1875,  Jackson  Dawson,  at  the  Arnold  Arboretum, 
Jamaica  Plains,  Mass.,  began  the  culture  of  blueberries  from 
seed,  and  has  demonstrated  the  possibility  of  successfully  culti- 
vating most  of  the  more  common  species.3 

In  1883,  and  for  a  few  succeeding  years,  Professor  E.  S.  Goff 
of  the  New  York  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  made  some 
attempts  at  culture,  but  the  work  finally  yielded  to  the  pressure 
of  other  duties.  A  similar  fate  befell  like  work  at  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  College  in  1887. 

In  1886,  Frank  Ford  &  Sons,  Ravenna,  Ohio,  offered  at  least 
three  different  species  of  Vaccinium  and  one  Gaylussacia  in  their 
nursery  catalog  and  said :  "This  much  neglected  fruit,  which 
is  of  great  value  and  easy  of;  cultivation,  ought  to  be  found  in 
every  fruit  garden.  Its  perfect  hardiness  and  adaptation  to  all 
kinds  of  soil,  render  it  as  easy  of  cultivation  as  any  of  the  small 
fruits,  and  it  can  be  grown  anywhere  that  corn  will  grow." 

In  1891  at  least  three  American  nurserymen  offered  blue- 
berries for  sale,  and  in  1893  as  many  as  nine  species  were  on 
the  market — though  not  largely  grown. 

In  1898,  at  the  Maine  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  the 
work  was  taken  up  systematically,  and  is  still  in  progress. 


1  "S.  A.  H."     Rural  New  Yorker,  1886,  25'.'. 

2  An.  Rep.  N.  Y.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  1883,  287. 

3  Country  Gentleman,  1885,  660. 


12 


Several  instances  01  the  successful  and  profitable  garden 
culture  of  blueberries  are  cited  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Maine  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  1898. * 

While  for  the  production  of  improved  types  it  will  doubtless 
be  necessary  to  resort  to  the  culture  of  seedling  plants,  the  length 
of  time  required  for  results  and  the  careful  attention  to  details 
in  the  management  of  seedlings,  is  well  as  the  uncertainty  of 
results,  will  restrict  such  culture  to  the  experiment  stations,  or 
J,o  a  few  enterprising  nurserymen.  The  ordinary  fruit  grower 
may,  however,  secure  a  stock  of  plants  from  a  neighboring 
pasture  or  swamp,  and  by  giving  the  same  attention  to  culture 
which  he  would  give  to  currants  may  secure  very  satisfactory 
results.  For  this  purpose,  the  high-bush  blueberry,  V .  corym- 
bosuui  and  its  varieties  are  perhaps  the  best  sorts.  They  are 
relatively  easy  to  transplant,  either  from  swamp  or  upland,  and 
are  of  good  size  and  very  prolific.  The  variety  amoenum  is  a 
rather  dwarf  form  with  very  large  berries  and  grows  freely  on 
the  upland.  V.  vacillans  is  the  next  best  species  for  cultivation 
as  a  "small  fruit." 

THE   BLUEBERRY  INDUSTRY. 

Although  from  the  earliest  colonial  times  the  blueberry  has 
been  highly  prized  as  an  article  of  food,  very  little  attention  has 
been  given  to  the  systematic  exploitation  of  our  resources  in  this 
direction. 

In  many  of  the  northern  and  eastern  states — particularly  in 
New  England,  New  York,  Michigan  and  the  mountains  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  West  Virginia- — there  are  thousands  of  acres  of 
land  worthless  for  agricultural  purposes  which,  after  the  pine 
is  removed,  send  up  an  abundant  growth  of  blueberry  bushes,, 
alders,  poplars,  grey  birches  and  spiraeas.  It  is  believed  that  by 
proper  management  these  lands  may  be  made  to  yield  a  hand- 
some profit  to  their  owners,  and  furnish  employment  to  a  large 
number  of  people. 

At  the  present  time  these  lands  are,  for  the  most  part,  con- 
sidered as  public  property,  and  irresponsible  parties,  recognizing 
the  fact  that  the  blueberry  crop  is  more  abundant  on  young 
bushes  which  spring  up  after  a  fire,  recklessly  burn  over  vast 
areas  and  destroy  valuable  forests  for  their  own  selfish  gain. 

1  Rep.  Maine  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  1898,  170 


Although  very  large  quantities  of  fruit  are  gathered  through- 
out the  northern  and  Atlantic  states,  the  industry  has  been  more 
nearly  systematized  in  New  England  than  elsewhere.  One 
writer  in  1887  states1  that  he  ships  an  average  of  1,000  bushels 
a  year  from  his  farm  in  New  Hampshire  and  as  many  more  for 
his  neighbors.  He  estimates  that  on  one  branch  of  the  Boston 
&  IVlainc  Railroad  as  many  as  20,000  bushels  are  shipped 
annually. 


THE    BLUEBERRY    HA  KRESS. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  Maine,  there  are  about  150,000 
acres  known  as  the  "blueberry  barrens."  Much  of  this  land 
was  burned  over  by  the  Indians  before  the  colonial  period  and 
since  the  removal  of  the  timber  from  the  remainder,  it  too  has 
been  repeatedly  burned  to  keep  down  the  growth  of  birches  and 
alders,  and  to  facilitate  the  harvesting  of  the  fruit. 

About  40,000  acres  of  the  barrens  belong  to  Mr.  William 
Freeman  of  Cherryfield,  Maine,  who  may  properly  be  regarded 
as  the  pioneer  in  the  blueberry  industry  of  America.  After  long 
and  bitter  litigation  he  proved  beyond  question  his  right  to 
charge  royalty  for  all  fruit  gathered  on  his  lands  and  estab- 
lished a  systematic  method  of  treatment  which  is  applicable, 
under  most  conditions,  everywhere.  The  method  is  somewhat 
as  follows : 


Country  Gentleman,  1S87,  56.V 


The  land  is  divided  into  several  tracts,  each  of  which  is  leased 
to  some  responsible  party  who  assumes  the  whole  care  of  burn- 
ing, keeping  off- trespassers,  harvesting  and  marketing  the  fruit. 
The  owner  receives,  as  rental,  one-half  cent  per  quart  for  all  the 
fruit  gathered. 

The  pickers  receive  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  cents  per 
quart ;  those  who  lease  the  land  and  haul  the  fruit  to  the  canning 
factory,  or  to  the  station  for  shipment,  one-half  to  one  cent  per 
quart, — the  rate  being  determined,  in  accordance  with  the 
market  values,  by  the  firm  which  handles  the  product.  The  fruit 
is  all  canned  or  shipped  by  one  firm  which  keeps  a  record  of  the 
amount  as  it  is  brought  in,  and  pays  the  royalty  to  the  owner. 

Every  year  a  certain  section  of  each  "lease"  is  burned  over. 
This  burning  must  be  done  very  early  in  the  spring,  before  the 
soil  becomes  dry;  otherwise  the  fire  goes  too  deep,  the  humus 
is  burned  from  the  ground  and  most  of  the  bushes  are  killed. 
Many  hundred  acres  on  what  should  be  the  best  part  of  the 
"barrens"  have  thus  been  ruined.  The  method  most  commonly 
used  in  burning  a  given  area,  is  for  the  operator  to  pass  around 
the  section  to  be  burned,  dragging  after  him  an  ordinary  torch 
or  mill-lamp.  He  then  retraces  his  steps  and  follows  over  the 
burned  area,  setting  new  fires  in  the  portions  which  have  escaped 
and  back-firing  if  there  is  danger  of  spreading  unduly  over 
areas  which  it  is  desired  to  leave  unburned.  A  device  occasion- 
ally used  consists  of  a  piece  of  one-half  inch  gas-pipe,  bent  at 
the  end  at  an  angle  of  about  60  degrees.  The  end  opposite  the 
bent  portion  is  closed  with  a  cap  or  plug,  and  in  the  other  end, 
after  filling  the  pipe  with  kerosene,  is  placed  a. plug  of  cotton 
waste  or  tow.  This  device  is  by  many  regarded  as  superior  to 
the  lamp  or  torch,  as  it  is  more  easily  handled.  Each  section  of 
the  lease  is  usually  burned  over  every  third  year. 

By  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  fruit  is  taken  to  the  fac- 
tories for  canning.  Early  in  the  season,  however,  before  the 
factories  are  opened,  a  considerable  amount  is  shipped  to  the 
larger  cities  for  use  while  fresh.  This  fruit  is  usually  shipped 
in  quart  boxes,  shown  in  the  figure.  The  blueberries  have  an 
advantage  over  other  small  fruits  in  that,  with  the  exception  of 
currants  and  gooseberries,  they  will  stand  rough  handling  better, 
and  will  keep  longer  than  the  others. 


A    BOX  OF   BLUEBERRIES. 

All  of  the  early  fruit  is  picked  by  hand,  and  only  the  ripe 
berries  are  gathered.  Later  in  the  season,  particularly  on  "old 
burns,"  i.  e.  on  areas  which  will  have  to  be  burned  over  the  next 
year,  the  fruit  is  gathered  with  a  "blueberry  rake."  This  is  an 
implement  somewhat  similar  to  the  cranberry  rake  in  use  on 
Cape  Cod,  and  may  be  likened  to  a  dust  pan,  the  bottom  of  which 
is  composed  of  stiff  parallel  wire  rods.  The  fruit  may  be 
gathered  much  more  quickly  and  more  cheaply  by  means 
of  the  rake.  The  bushes  are,  however,  seriously  injured 
by  the  treatment.  In  no  case  should  the  rake  be  used  in  gather- 
ing the  high-bush  blueberries.  As  the  berries  are  gathered  they 
are  passed  through  a  fanning  mill  before  being  sent  to  the  can- 
ning factory;  and  again,  at  the  factory,  they  are  submitted  to  a 
much  stronger  winnowing.  This  is  usually  the  only  preparation 
necessary. 

Wm.  Freeman,  Esq.,  Cherryfield,  Maine,  may  properly  be 
regarded  as  the  father  of  the  blueberry  industry  in  America. 
His  account  of  the  beginnings  of  the  industry  is  given  herewith. 


i6 

The  canning  of  blueberries  on  a  commercial  scale  was  begun  in 
Maine  as  early  as  1866  when  A.  L.  Stewart  of  Cherryfield 
packed  some  of  the  fruit  procured  from  the  neighboring  wild 
lands  for  the  Portland  Packing  Company.  J.  W.  Jones,  a 
pioneer  in  the  corn  packing  industry,  was  engaged  in  the  can- 
ning of  blueberries  in  1870,  as  were  also  William  Underwood 
and  Company,  Jonesport,  Maine. 


BLUEBERRY     RAKE. 

Before  canning  the  fruit  was  deemed  practicable,  "the  plains" 
were  considered  common  property  and  people  came  for  fifty  and 
even  one  hundred  miles  for  a  week's  outing  and  to  gather  blue- 
berries for  their  own  use,  and  to  sell  to  the  merchants  of  neigh- 
boring cities  and  villages.  The  timber  on  the  plains  was  fast 
being  destroyed  by  fires  which  were  set  by  the  blueberry  pickers 
and,  in  1870,  Mr.  Freeman,  who  owned  some  forty  thousand 
acres  of  the  wild  land,  decided  to  charge  a  small  royalty  for  the 
fruit  picked  on  his  lands.  Most  of  the  packers  paid  the  small 
amount  demanded  without  question,  but  the  Underwood  Com- 
pany refused  and  after  repeated  attempts  to  get  them  to  recog- 
nize his  right  of  property,  a  suit  for  trespass  was  instituted 
by  the  owner.  The  trespass  continuing,  other  suits  were 
brought  and  the  case  was  finally  carried  to  the  supreme  court 
before  it  was  decided.  The  final  decision  was  a  complete  victory 
for  Mr.  Freeman — a  judgment  of  $1,700  being  granted  and  the 


right  of  owners  of  public  lands  to  sell  "stumpage"  for  blueberry 
or  other  fruits  being  established  once  for  all.  Mr.  Freeman's 
action  not  only  benefited  other  owners  of  wild  lands,  as  well  as 
himself,  but  it  resulted  in  the  perfect  system  of  management 
already  detailed. 


A     BLUEBERRY   CANNING    FACTORY. 

The  financial  importance  of  the  blueberry  industry  is  very 
difficult  even  to  estimate  at  the  present  time.  In  Maine  the 
canning  of  blueberries  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  a  few  leading 
packers.  The  largest  of  these  factories  has  a  daily  capacity  of 
700  bushels  and  the  average  annual  output  is  8,300  cases  of  two 
dozen  cans  each ;  representing  6,250  bushels  of  fresh  fruit.  The 
average  price  per  case  for  the  canned  fruit  is  $1.90.  In  other 
words,  the  value  of  the  annual  product  of  this  one  factory  is 
not  far  from  $i  5,000.! 

There  were  in  1900  seven  factories  in  Maine  which  engaged 
in  canning  blueberries.     These  were  as  follows: 
J.  and  E.  A.  Wyman,  Cherryfiekl, 
Burnham  and  Merrill,  Harrington, 


1  This  is  the  Wynian  factory  which  hnndl^s  Mr.  FrpeuiHn's  fruit.  As  will  be 
seen,  Mr.  Freeman's  royalty  will  amount  to  S1,(MM),  -mnl  thin  from  land  which  is 
otherwise  worthle.-s. 


L.  A.  and  A.  R.  Logic,  Columbia  Falls, 

J.  A.  Coffin,  Columbia  Falls, 

A.  L.  Stewart  and  Son,  Cherryfield, 

Lawrence  Bros.,  Jonesboro, 

L.  A.  and  A.  R.  Logic,  Vanceboro. 

The  value  of  these  factories  is  about  $50,00x3.  Those  at  Jones- 
boro and  Vanceboro  were  erected  in  1900. 

The  number  of  hands  employed  in  the  various  factories  would 
aggregate  about  a  hundred,  but  including  the  pickers,  there  are 
from  one  thousand  to  two  thousand  men,  women  and  children 
employed  in  the  blueberry  packing  industry  during  the  canning 
season.  About  $30,000  are  distributed  among  the  pickers  each 
year. 

The  total  canned  product  of  the  "blueberry  barrens"  in  1899 
was  about  50,000  cases  and  the  price  per  case  was  $2.20,  making 
the  value  of  the  blueberry  crop  in  this  one  small  section  con- 
siderably more  than  $100,000. 

In  northern  Michigan  large  quantities  of  fruit  are  shipped  each 
year  but  there  is  no  systematic  management  of  the  blueberry 
lands.  The  Western  Express  Company,  through  the  courtesy  of 
the  Superintendent,  Mr.  S.  A.  Davis,  records  the  following  ship- 
ment of  blueberries  in  northern  Michigan  for  1900 :  Saulte  Ste. 
Marie,  650  cases  (16  quarts  each)  :  Sturgeon  River,  38  cases; 
Ispheming,  544  cases;  Wetmore,  220  cases;  Marquette,  200- 
cases;  Seney,  1,719  cases. 

The  last  season  was  a  very  poor  one  for  blueberries  in  upper 
Michigan,  the  crop  having  been  largely  destroyed  by  late  frost. 
Large  quantities  are  usually  shipped  from  Baraga,  whereas  none 
were  shipped  last  year.  From  Wetmore,  which  reports  220 
cases,  the  normal  shipment  is  about  3,000  cases,  and  Sturgeon 
River  which  reports  but  38  cases  is  usually  one  of  the  best  ship- 
ping points. 

WHITS    BLUEBERRIES. 

White  or  pinkish  fruits,  instead  of  the  usual  deep  blue  colored 
berries,  are  not  uncommon  in  certain  localities.  In  some  cases 
these  are  simply  albino  forms;  in  others  the  color  is  due  to  a 
fungous  growth.  In  the  gardens  of  the  Maine  Experiment 
Station  some  of  the  albino  forms  are  now  fruiting,  and,  aside 
from  the  color,  they  are  perfectly  normal. 


Albino  forms  of  certain  species — as  V.  Myrtillus — were  early 
observed.  Dodoens,  in  1578,  mentions  "some  that  beare  white 
Berries  when  they  be  rype,  howbeit  they  are  but  seldome  seen."1 
White  fruits  are  catalogued  by  Ruppius  in  Flora  Jenensis  in 
1726,  and  were  found  by  Gmelin  in  Siberia  in  I768.2  In  1854, 
John  Booth  of  Floetbeck  nursery,  near  Hamburg,  Germany, 
offered  for  sale  plants  of  a  white  fruited  form  of  V.  Myrtillus 
which  had  been  obtained  from  the  Black  Forest.3  A  white 
fruited  form  of  Vitis-Idaa  is  also  noted  as  occurring  at  Lyng- 
dalen  in  the  province  of  Christiansand  in  1761.* 


v.  PENNS'YLVANICUM,  ALBINO. 


White  fruited  forms  of    Pennsylvanicum    and    corymb osum 
have  been  observed  by  the  writer ;  white  vacillans  is  reported  in 


1  Lyte's  Dodoens  670. 

2  Cited  by  Sturtevant,  Trans.  Mass.  Hort.  Soc.  1890,  25. 

3  London,  Arb.  et  Fruit.  2:1157. 
«P1.  Dan.  1:9. 


2O 

Garden  and  Forest,  1893,  and  other  species  are  recorded.1 
Ascherson  and  Magnus2  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  color 
and  form  variations  of  Vaccinium,  and  citations  are  given  which 
show  the  very  general  distribution  of  albino  forms  throughout 
the  world. 

No  special  reason  for  this  difference  in  color  can  be  assigned. 
The  white  forms  are  found  growing  (usually  in  colonies)  by 
the  side  of  the  normal  type.  If  exposed  to  full  sunlight,  the 
fruit  is  very  likely  to  have  a  blush  cheek,  or  even  to  be  of  a 
scarlet  color. 

The  albino  forms  must,  however,  be  carefully  distinguished 
from  the  "white  berries"  caused  by  the  presence  of  a  fungous 
growth.  One  of  these  white  forms  was  described  in  1859  by 
Doll  as  V.  Myrtillus  var.  leucocarpon.  But  in  1879  Schroeter 
showed  that  the  white  color  was  due  to  a  fungus  which  he  called 
Peziza  baccarum  (now  Sclerotinia  baccarum)*  Ten  years 
later  Woronin  gave  a  full  account  of  similar  white  berries  found 
by  him  in  Finland  on  Vitis-Idcea,  Oxycoccus  and  uliginosum, — 
three  species  which  are  also  common  in  the  United  States — and 
of  the  fungus  producing  the  color.4 

BOTANICAL    NOTES. 

Vaccinium  (Origin  of  the  name  obscure)  ;  Vacciniacece. 
Branching  shrubs,  creeping  vines  or  small  trees  (sometimes 
epiphytes),  with  alternate,  often  coriaceous,  evergreen  or  decid- 
uous, sometimes  membranaceous  leaves;  flowers  small,  white, 
pinkish  or  reddish  in  lateral  racemes  or  terminal  clusters,  some- 
times solitary  in  the  axils,  mostly  nodding  on  slender  bracted 
pedicels  and  bearing  blue  black  or  red  berry-like  fruits,  mostly 
edible.  Calyx  4-5  toothed,  adherent  to  the  ovary,  persistent, 
forming  a  crown-like  appendage  to  the  fruit.  Corolla  various 
in  shape,  usually  campanulate,  cylindraceous  or  urn-shaped, 
rarely  sub-globose,  4-5  toothed  or  cleft.  Stamens  distinct, 
included  within  the  corolla  tube  or  exserted;  anthers  often 
2-awned  at  the  back,  the  cells  separate  and  prolonged  upward 


1  Garden  and  Forest  8:503,  (1*95). 

«  Berlchte  d.  deut.  Bot.  Gesell.  13!)0,"3S7-400. 

«  Gurd.  and  For.  2:50,  (1889). 

*Mem.  Acad.  St.  Petersburg,  1888. 


21 

into  tubes  at  the  apex,  opening  by  terminal  pores  or  chinks. 
Pistil  single,  with  a  4-5  or  8-10  celled  ovary  which  is  glabrous 
or  hirsute.  Flowers  in  spring  with  or  before  the  leaves,  berries 
ripe  in  summer  and  autumn,  sweetish  or  sometimes  acid,  mostly 
edible. 

THE)    NATURAL    GROUPS    OF    SPECIES. 

In  making  the  following  natural  divisions  of  the  genus  I  have, 
in  general,  followed  Bentham  and  Hooker,  but  have  included 
the  group  Oxycoccus,  after  Gray  in  Synoptical  Flora.  When 
two  closely  related  forms  occur  over  a  wide  range  in  latitude, 
the  assigned  differences  are  very  liable  to  fail  at  some  point. 

Key  to  the  Groups. 

A.      Ovary,  4-5  celled  (rarely  8-10  celled  in  Vitis-Idsea). 
B.      Stamens  exserted 

C.      Filaments  villous OXYCOCCOIDES. 

CC.  Filaments   puberulent OXYCOCCUS. 

BB.  Stamens  included 

C.      Filaments  glabrous  or  pubescent  EUVACCINIUM. 

CC.  Filaments  pilose ViTis-lD^A. 

A  A.  Ovary  10  celled  (sometimes  imperfectly  so  in  Cyanococcus). 
B.  Anthers  with  two  awns  on  the  back. . .  BATODENDRON. 
BB.  Anthers  awnless CYANOCOCCUS. 

OXYCOCCOIDES,  B.  &  H. 

Erect  branching  shrubs  with  deciduous  membranaceous  leaves 
and  berries  of  Huvaccinium,  but  with  corolla  of  true  Oxycoccus: 
flowers  solitary,  axillary,  on  long  pedicels,  pedicel  bractless,  but 
minutely  2-bracteolate  at  the  base.  V.  erythrocarpon 

V.  Japonicum 
OXYCOCCUS.     (Oxycoccus,  Pers.)  Gray. 

Corolla  deeply  4-cleft  or  4-parted ;  the  lobes  linear  or  lanceo- 
late-oblong, reflexed ;  stamens  8,  exserted,  anthers  awnless,  with 
very  long  terminal  tubes ;  ovary  and  berry  4-celled ;  flowers,  pale 
rose-colored,  axillary  and  terminal,  nodding  on  long  filiform 
pedicels ;  appearing  in  early  summer ;  fruit  maturing  in  autumn. 

C.        Stems  very  slender,  creeping V.  Oxycoccus 

CC.     Stems  stouter,  with  ascending  branches 

V.  macro  car pon 


22 


EUVACCINIUM,  Gray. 

Corolla  ovate  to  globular,  more  or  less  urceolate,  4-5  toothed, 
rose  or  white;  filaments  glabrous;  anthers  2-awned,  included; 
ovary  and  berry  4-5  celled  with  no  false  partitions ;  leaves  decid- 
uous ;  flowers  drooping,  solitary  or  2  or  4  together,  developing 
with  or  soon  after  the  leaves. 

C.        Corolla  commonly  4-lobed  ;   stamens  8 F.   idiginosum 

CC.     Corolla  commonly  5-lobed  ;   stamens  10. 
D.        Plants  dwarf,  a  foot  or  less  high. 

E.        Branches  not  angled V.  cwspitosum 

EE.     Branches  sharply  angled  ......  V.  Myrtillus 

DD.     Plants  taller,  1 — 12  feet  high. 

E.        Margins  of  leaves  sharply  serrulate. 

V.  myrtiUoides 
EE.     Margins  of   leaves    entire  (except   in   ovali- 

Jottum) . 
F.        Size  of  leaves  H  in.  long. 

F.  ovalifolium 
FF.     Size  of  leaves  H-%  in.  long. 

V.  parvifolium 
V.  Mortinia 

ViTis-lDAEA  (Koch.)  Gray. 

Corolla  cylindraceous,  ovate,  or  globose-campanulate,  more  or 
less  urceolate,  rose  or  nearly  white,  4-5  lobed,  stamens  included, 
filaments  hairy;  anthers  awnless  (or  with  short  awns)  ;  leaves 
coriaceous  and  persistent ;  flowers  in  short  racemes  or  clusters 
from  separate  buds ;  bracteate  and  2-bracteolate. 

C.        Ovary  5-celled  ;  stamens  10. 

D.        Branchlets  pubescent V '.  ovatum 

DD.     Branchlets  glabrous.  . V .  crassifolium 

CC.     Ovary  4-celled  ;  stamens  8. 

D.        Branches  short  (3-4  in.)  from  creeping  stems 

V.  Vitis-Idaea 
BATODENDRON,  Gray. 

Corolla  open-campanulate,  5  lobed;  anthers  tipped  with  long 
slender  tubes,  and  2-awned  on  the  back;  ovary  and  (hardly  edi- 
ble) berry  falsely  lo-celled;  leaves  rather  firm  in  texture  but 
deciduous ;  flowers  axillary  and  solitary  or  in  leafy-bracted 
racemes,  slender  pedicelled,  bractlets  minute  or  none. 

C.        Anthers  included V.  arboreum 

CC.     Anthers  exserted.  .  ..V .  stamineum 


23 

CYANOCOCCUS,  Gray. 

Corolla  cyjindraceous  to  campanulate-oblong  or  ovoid,  5- 
toothed;  filaments  hairy;  anthers  awnless,  included;  ovary  and 
berry  more  or  less  lo-celled  by  false  partitions ;  berry  blue  or 
black,  usually  with  bloom,  edible,  many  seeded ;  flowers,  short 
pedicelled,  (white  or  rose)  in  fascicles  or  very  short  racemes, 
developed  with  or  a  little  before  the  leaves ;  buds  separate,  large, 
scaly ;  bracts  and  bractlets  caducous  or  deciduous. 
C.  Foliage  evergreen,  coriaceous. 

D.        Calyx-teeth  roundish  and  very  dense.       V.  nitidum 

DD.     Calyx- teeth  acute V.  Myrsinites 

CC.     Foliage    deciduous    (sometimes    tardily   so   in     southern 
forms) . 

D.        Corolla  cylindraceous V.    Virgatum 

DD.     Corolla  short  and  usually  broad. 

E.        Branchlets  hirsute V.  hirsutum 

EE.     Branchlets   glabrous  or  glaucous    (except  in 

V.  Canadense). 
F.  Leaves  glaucous  and  pale  beneath. 

V.  vacillans 

FF.        Leaves  strongly  pubescent  both  sides. 

V.  Canadense 

and    var.  atrococcum  of  corymbosum 
FFF.     Leaves  glabrous,  often  hairy  on  mid- 
rib beneath. 

G.        Margin  of  leaves  bristly-serru- 
late. 

H.    Fruit  mostly  blue. glaucous. 

V.  Pennsylvanicum 

HH.    Fruit  black . .  .  V.  nigrum 

GG.     Margin  of  leaves  entire  or  at 

most  ciliate.       V.  corymbosum 

A    HORTICULTURAL,    CLASSIFICATION. 

As  already  indicated,  the  genus  under  consideration  includes 
many  species  of  particular  importance  as  food  plants,  others 
which  are  useful  only  for  ornament,  and  some  which  are  valuable 
for  both  purposes.  The  following  key  to  the  more  commonly 
known  species  is  based  upon  leading  horticultural  characters. 


24 

A.     Cultivated  chiefly  for  fruit. 
B.        Color  of  fruit  red. 

C.  Stems  slender,  trailing  ;  leaves  evergreen. 

D.        Apex  of  leaves  acute Oxycoccus- 

DD.     Apex  of  leaves  obtuse  or  retuse. 

macrocarpon 
CC.        Stems  stouter  though  creeping  ;  branches  erect, 

tufted   Vitis-Idaea 

CCC.     Stems  erect,  much  taller  (2-10  feet). 
D.        Leaves  small  (%-%  inch  long). 

parvijolium 
BB.     Color  of  fruit  blue  or  black. 

C.  Plant  low,  >2-3  feet  high. 

D.        Foliage  evergreen. 

E.        Leaves  small  (K-^  inch  long) . 

nitidum 
EE.     Leaves  larger  (K— 1  inch  long). 

Myr smites 

DD.     Foliage  deciduous. 

E.        Surface  of  leaves  glabrous. 

F.        Leaves    pale     beneath,     not 
shining  above .  . . ,  vaciUans 
v&r.pattidum  of  corymbosum 
FF.     Leaves  not  paler  beneath  (ex- 
cept sometimes  in  Pennsyl- 
vanicum)  ;  shining,  at  least 
above. 
G.      Flowers  solitary  in  the 

axils. 

H.        Branches  sharply 
angled. 

Myrtillus 

HH.     Branches        not 
angled. 

ccespitosum 
GG.  Flowers  in  fascicles  or 

short  racemes. 
H.     Fruit  blue, glaucous 

Pe  n  nsylva  n  ic  u  m 
HH.   Fruit  black. 

nigrum 


25 

EE.     Surface  of  the  leaves  hairy. 

F.        Ovary  and  fruit  glaucous. 

Canadense 
FF.     Ovary  and  fruit  hirsute. 

hirsutum 
CC.        Plant  taller  (3—12  feet),  spreading. 

D.        Flowers  solitary  in  axils. 

E.        Leaves  sharply  serrate .  .  myrtilloides 
EE.     Leaves  entire  or  slightly  serrulate 

ovalifolium 
DD.     Flowers  in  racemes  or  corymbs. 

E.        Racemes     elongated      on      naked 

branches virgatum 

EE.     Racemes  shorter corymbosum 

AA.     Cultivated  chiefly  for  ornament. 
B.        Plants  low,  1 — 2  feet  high. 

C.        Stems    creeping,    with    branches    erect   or    as- 
cending. 

D.         Leaves  small,  shining crassijolium 

DD.     Leaves  larger,  pale  or  glaucescent. 

uliginosum 

CC.     Stems  erect ;  twigs  red erythrinum 

BB.     Plants  taller,  2-20  feet  high. 

C.        Foliage  evergreen,  rigid ovatum 

CC.     Foliage  deciduous. 

D.  Surface    shining    above,   more  or  less 

pubescent  beneath arboreum 

DD.        Surface  paler  above,  glaucous  beneath. 

stamineum 
DDD.     Surface  bright  green  both  sides. 

erythrocarpon 

THE    MOST    IMPORTANT    SPECIES. 

V*  Oxycoccus,  L.  (Small  Cranberry) 

Linnaeus,  Sp.  PL  351,  1753. 

(Synonyms:  Oxycoccus  palustris,  Pers.,  Syn.  PL  1:419; 
Oxycoccus  vulgaris,  Pursh.  FL  i :  263.) 

Slender  creeping  plants  with  short  (4-10  inch)  filiform  stems, 
leaves  ovate,  acute  or  acuminate,  %  inch  long,  with  revolute 


26 


margins ;  pedicels  1-4,  terminal ;  corolla  deeply  4-parted,  the  lobes 
reflexed ;  anthers  exserted,  with  very  long  terminal  tubes ;  berry 
red,  globose,  Y^-Yz  inch  in  diameter,  4-celled.  (Figured: 
Sowerby,  Eng.  Bot.  ed.  i,  5:319;  Schlecht,  Fl.  von  Deutch. 
20:2039;  Reich.,  Icon.  Fl.  Germ.  17,  t.  1169.) — Sphagnous 
swamps,  Europe,  north  and  middle  Asia,  North  America,  Green- 
land to  Japan  mostly  in  sub-arctic  and  alpine  regions,  Newfound- 
land to  Alaska  and  southward  to  mountains  of  Pennsylvania, 
common  on  rocky  islands  along  the  coast  of  Maine.  The  cran- 
berry of  the  old  world.  It  is  distinguished  from  the  next  species, 
the  American  Cranberry,  by  its  very  small  pointed  leaves,  rarely 
Yn  inch  long,  and  by  the  short  ovate  segments  of  the  corolla  as 
well  as  by  the  terminal  inflorescence.  Though  smaller,  its  fruit 
is  by  many  considered  superior  to  that  of  the  next. 

V*  macrocarpon,  Ait.  (Larger  American  Cranberry) 
Aiton,  Hort.  Kew,  2:  13,  1789. 

(Synonyms:  V.  oxy  coccus  var.  oblongifolius,  Michx.  Fl.  Bor. 
Am.  i :  228;  Oxycoccus  macrocarpus,  Pursh.  Fl.  1 :  263.) 

Stems  slender,  creeping,  elongated  (1-4  feet),  the  flowering 
branches  ascending;  leaves  oblong  or  oval,  obtuse  or  retuse, 
Yz-Yz  mcn  l°ng;  whitened  beneath;  pedicels  several,  axillary  and 
lateral ;  berry  red  or  reddish,  globose  or  pyriform,  J^-i  inch  long. 
(Figured:  Ait.  Hort.  Kew,  ed.  i,  2:  13,  t.7;  Bot.  Mag.  t.2586; 
Emerson,  Trees  and  Shrubs  of  Mass.,  ed.  5,  2:456;  Meehan, 
Flowers  and  Ferns  2 :  28 ;  Wein,  III.  Gart.  Zeit.  i :  81 ;  as  Oxy- 
coccus macrocarpus  Bart.  Fl.  i,  t.17.) — Peat  bogs,  Newfound- 
land to  North  Carolina  and  westward. 

This  is  the  common  large  fruited  cranberry,  under  cultivation 
in  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey  and  elsewhere. 

V.  Vitis-Idaea,  L.   (Cowberry,  Mountain  Cranberry,    Foxberry) 
Linnaeus,  Sp.  PI.  351,  1753. 

(Synonyms:  V .  Punctatum,  Lam.  Fl.  Fr.  3  :  396 ;  V.  puncti- 
folium,  Stokes,  Bot.  Mat.  Med.  2 :  363 ;  V.  buxifolium,  Gillb.  Fl. 
Lituan.  1:4;  V.  nemorosuni,  Salisb.  Prod.  291.) 

Plants  low  (6-10  inches)  ;  branches  erect  from  tufted  creeping 
stems ;  leaves  coriaceous,  persistent,  obovate  or  oval,  Y^A  mcn 


27 

long,  dark  green  and  shining  above,  with  blackish  bristly  points 
beneath ;  flowers  in  short  terminal  racemes  ;  corolla  white  or  rose- 
colored,  4-cleft;  berries  dark  red,  acid,  rather  bitter.  (Figured: 
Fl.  Dan.  1.40;  Lodd.,  Bot.  Cab.  t.6i6  (as  var.  "major");  Bot. 
Cab.  .1023  (var.  "minor").)  Arctic  regions  of  Europe,  Asia 
and  Greenland  to  Japan ;  south  to  the  coast  of  New  England, 
Minnesota  and  British  Columbia. 

A  low,  evergreen,  shrubby  plant  which  grows  in  cold  and 
elevated  situations  in  the  northern  parts  of  both  hemispheres. 
The  blossoms  are  very  delicate  and  the  fruits,  which  are  rather 
larger  than  currants,  acid  and  somewhat  bitter  when  uncooked, 
are  largely  used  in  the  more  northern  regions  for  tarts,  jellies 
and  preserves,  or  as  a  substitute  for  the  common  cranberry. 
According  to  Macoun  (Card,  and  For.  2:  508),  the  fishermen's 
families  along  the  Gaspe  coast  and  the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  gather  the  fruit  of  this  species  in  large  quanti- 
ties, for  their  own  use  and  for  sale,  calling  it  "Low-Bush  Cran- 
berry." Throughout  the  whole  of  northern  Canada,  hunters  and 
trappers,  as  well  as  the  native  Indians,  have  frequently  to  depend 
upon  it  for  food. 

The  plant  spreads  rapidly,  is  hardy  and  requires  no  special 
care.  It  is  valuable  for  the  shrubbery  border  where  the  strong 
contrast  of  the  dark  green  foliage  and  the  bright  colored  per- 
sistent fruit  is  very  striking. 


V.  parvifolium,  Smith. 
Smith  in  Rees  Cycl.  no.  13,  1817;  Gray  Syn.  Fl.  2:  24. 

Shrub  6-12  feet  high,  straggling;  with  slender,  green,  sharply 
angled  branches ;  leaves  oblong  or  oval,  obtuse,  entire,  dull  or 
pale,  Y^~y^  inch  long;  flowers  solitary  in  the  axils,  corolla  globu- 
lar, nearly  "white,  calyx  5-lobed;  berries  light  red,  rather  dry. 
(Figured:  Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  t.i28.) — Shady  and  low  woods, 
northern  California,  near  the  coast  to  Alaska. 

A  somewhat  straggling  shrub,  offered  for  sale  by  one  nursery- 
man. Of  interest  rather  than  of  special  merit.  T.  J.  Howell  of 
Oregon  characterizes  the  fruit  as  "of  good  flavor,  excellent  for 
tarts,"  while  Gray,  says  "rather  dry,  hardly  edible." 


28 


V.  erythrocarpon,  Micbx. 
Michaux,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  i :  227,  1803. 

(Synonyms:  Oxycoccus  erectus,  Pursh,  Fl.  1:264;  O.  ery~ 
throcarpus,  Elliott,  Sketches  i,  447.) 

Shrub,  erect,  divergently  branching  1-4  feet  high;  leaves 
oblong-lanceolate,  acuminate,  serrate,  thin,  1^-3  inches  long; 
pedicels  solitary,  axillary,  bractless ;  corolla  flesh-colored,  J/£  inch 
long,  4-cleft,  revolute,  berries  globose,  ^  inch  in  diameter,  light 
red,  turning  to  deep  blue-black  at  full  maturity,  watery,  slightly 
acid,  "of  exquisite  flavor,"  Don.  (Not  usually  regarded  as  val- 
uable.) (Figured:  Bot.  Mag.  ^7413;  (as  Oxycoccus  erectus} 
Wats.  Dendrol.  Brit,  i,  1.31) — Damp  woods,  higher  Alleghanies 
Virginia  to  Georgia,  July. 

A  remarkable  species  in  that  it  combines  the  flower  structure 
of  the  Oxycoccus  group  wth  the  erect  habit  and  foliage  character 
of  the  other  vacciniums.  The  specific  name  is  somewhat  mis- 
leading since,  when  mature,  the  fruit  is  similar  to  the  blueberries, 
though  without  the  distinct  crown  of  the  persistent  calyx,  found 
in  other  vacciniums. 

The  species  was  introduced  into  England  in  1806  by  Loddiges, 
but  has  been  cultivated  only  in  botanic  gardens. 

A  closely  allied  species,  V.  Japonicum,  MiqueL,  (Miq.  Ann, 
Mus.  Bot.  Lugd.  Bot.  i :  28,  1863 ;  Maximowicz,  Diagnoses  PL 
nov.  Jap.  et  Mand.,  in  Bui.  Acad.  Sci.  St.  Petersburg  8 :  603, 
1871)  is  found  in  central  and  northern  Japan,  but  has  not  been 
introduced  into  cultivation. 

V.  nitidum,  Andr. 
Andrews,  Bot.  Rep.  t.48o,  1805. 

A  diffusely  much  branched  shrub,  with  smooth  branchlets, 
leaves  thick  coriaceous,  shining  above,  obovate  or  oblong; 
flowers  in  fascicles  on  short  racemes ;  the  almost  persistent  bracts 
as  well  as  the  roundish  or  obtuse  calyx-teeth  reddish ;  corolla 
short  campanulate,  5-toothed;  berry  "somewhat  pear-shaped, 
black."  (Figured:  Bot.  Rep.  t.48o.)  — Low  pine  barrens, 
Florida  and  Georgia.  (Near  to  or  passing  into  Myrsinites). 


V*  Myrsinites,   Lam. 
Lamarck,  Encyc.  1  :  73,  1783. 

(Synonym:     V  .  nitidum  var.    decumbens,    Sims,    Bot.    Mag. 

1550.) 

Low  evergreen  shrub,  erect  or  decumbent  ;  branches,  when 
young,  puberulent  ;  leaves  exceedingly  variable,  oblong-lanceo- 
late and  acute  to  obovate  and  obtuse,  ^4-  1  inch  long,  entire  or 
serrulate,  sometimes  denticulate,  mostly  shining  above  ;  bracts 
and  calyx-teeth  acute  or  acutish  ;  berries  "globose,  blue." 
(Figured:  (as  V.  nitidum  var.  decumbens)  Bot.  Mag.  t.i55o) 
—  Sandy  pine  barrens,  North  Carolina  to  Florida  and  Louisiana. 

The  difference  between  this  species  and  the  preceding  is 
obscure.  The  chief  points  of  distinction  seem  to  be  that 
Myrsinites  has  puberulent  branchlets,  prominently  veined  leaves 
and  acute  calyx-teeth  and  bracts  ;  while  nitidum  has  smooth 
branchlets,  smaller  and  faintly  veined  leaves,  with  obtuse  or 
roundish  calyx-teeth  and  bracts. 

The  species  is  grown  as  a  pot  plant  in  cool  houses  in  England 
under  the  name  of  V.  Sprengelii.  (Card.  Chron.  n.  s.  19:473, 

1883). 

V*  vacillans,  Kalm,  (Low  Blueberry,  Blue  Huckleberry) 
Kalm  in  Herb.  Banks;  Torn,  Fl.  N.  Y.,  i  :  444, 


(Synonyms:  V  .  vacillans  Solander,  Gray,  Man.  ed.  I,  261  ; 
V.  virgatum  Bigelow,  Fl.  Bost.,  ed.  2,  152;  V.  Pennsylvanicum 
Torn,  Fl.  N.  U.  S.  i  :  416,  in  part.) 

Erect,  glabrous,  with  pale  yellowish-green  branchlets  ;  leaves 
obovate  or  oval,  entire  or  sparingly  serrulate;  flowers  in  rather 
loose  clusters,  generally  on  leafless  summits  of  twigs  ;  corolla 
campanulate  or  cylindraceous,  contracted  at  the  mouth  ;  berries 
large,  blue,  with  much  bloom,  of  excellent  flavor,  ripening  with 
V.  Canadense.  (Figured:  Emerson,  Trees  and  Shrubs  of 
Mass.,  ed.  5,  454.)  —  Dry,  sandy  or  rocky  places,  Maine  to  North 
Carolina,  westward  to  Michigan  and  Missouri. 

One  of  the  most  common  species  of  the  northern  and  central 
states,  particularly  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  The  flowers,  on 
terminal  and  lateral  naked  branchlets,  yellowish  white,  often 
tinged  with  red,  are  quite  showy  ;  while  the  fruit  is  particularly 


30 

valuable.  The  only  form  it  is  likely  to  be  confused  with  is 
variety  pallidum  of  corymbosum  and  from  this  it  is  distinguished 
by  the  veins  and  ribs  of  its  leaves  being  perfectly  smooth.  Well 
worthy  the  attention  of  cultivators. 


V*  Myrtillus,  (Whortleberry,  Bilberry) 
Linnaeus,  Sp.  PI.  350,  1753. 

(Synonym:  V.  myrtilloides,  Watson,  Bot.  King  Exp.  209,  not 
of  others.) 

Low  shrubs,  glabrous;  leaves  ovate  or  oval,  serrate,  con- 
spicuously veined,  y2-%  inch  long;  calyx  almost  entire;  berries 
black,  nodding.  (Figured:  Reichenb.,  Ic.  Fl.  Germ.  17:  118, 
t.n69;  Eng.  Bot.,  ed.  I,  7:456;  Schlecht.,  Fl.  von  Deutch. 
20:2036;  Twin.  111.  Nat.  ord.  2:83.) — Mountainous  regions 
Alaska  to  Colorado  and  Utah ;  Europe,  Asia. 

The  most  widely  distributed  species  and  very  generally  used  as 
an  article  of  diet  and  in  the  making  of  drinks,  particularly  in  the 
old  world.  It  is  from  this  species  that  the  common  name  whor- 
tleberry is  derived,  as  stated  elsewhere.  Not  of  special  import- 
ance in  America. 

V.  caespitosum,  Michx.,  (Dwarf  Bilberry) 
Michaux,  FL  Bor.  Am.  i :  234,  1803. 

A  very  dwarf  tufted  shrub,  2-12  inches  high;  nearly  glabrous 
throughout ;  leaves  obovate,  obtuse  or  acutish,  serrulate,  shining 
on  both  sides ;  flowers  solitary,  corolla  obovoid,  pink  or  white, 
slightly  5-toothed  (rarely  4-toothed)  ;  berries  large,  globose,  blue 
with  bloom,  sweet.  (Figured:  Bot.  Mag.  t.3429.) — Hudson's 
Bay  and  Labrador  to  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  also  alpine 
summits  of  Adirondacks ;  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Colorado  and 
Utah  to  Alaska,  east  to  Lake  Superior. 

It  is  doubtful  if  varieties  can  be  distinguished.  Var.  arbus- 
cula,  Gray,  passes  into  the  ordinary  form ;  while  angustifolium, 
Gray,  and  cuneifolium,  Nutt.,  are  found  to  be  simply  forms  pro- 
duced by  shade.  The  latter  form,  particularly,  is  common  in 
New  England  and  early  in  the  season  the  leaves  are  of  the  ordi- 
nary obovate  type,  while  later  they  become  elongated. 


A  boreal  or  Canadian  species  of  rather  limited  distribution  in 
the  East,  common  in  Maine  north  of  latitude  44°  50' ;  not  found 
in  Labrador  north  of  latitude  54°.  York,  Maine,  is  the  most 
southern  station  known.  It  is  generally  regarded  as  a  plant  of 
the  highest  alpine  summits  in  New  England,  but  it  is  not  uncom- 
mon in  other  localities  throughout  central  and  northern  Maine. 
It  is  abundant  at  Orono,  and  Fernald  has  found  that  "in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Penobscot  and  its  tributaries,  the  Piscataquis,  the 
Mattawamkeag,  and  the  Wassataquoik,  the  plant  is  to  be  found 
on  almost  any  ledgy  or  gravelly  riverbank."  Most  abundant  in 
the  valley  of  the  upper  St.  John. 

V*  Pennsylvanicum,  Lam.   (Low  Blueberry) 

Lamarck,  Encyc.  I  :  72,  1783. 

(Synonyms:  V.  myrtilloides,  Michx.,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  1 :  223 ;  V. 
tenellum,  Pursh,  Fl.  1:288  and  Bigel.  Fl.  Bost.  150,  not  Ait.; 
V ,  angusti folium,  Ait.,  Hort.  Kew,  ed.  2,  2 :  356 ;  V.  multi- 
floriurn,  Dunal  in  D.  C.  Prod.  7 :  572 ;  V.  salicinum,  Aschers. 
Flora,  1860,  369,  not  Cham. ;  V.  multifiorum,  Wats.  Dendr.  Brit. 
1.125  ( ?)  ;  V.  rarnulosum  and  humile  Willd.  Enum.  Suppl. 

20  (  ?).) 

A  dwarf  shrub  (6-15  inches)  with  slender  greenish,  warty, 
mostly  glabrous  branches ;  leaves  membranaceous,  oblong-lan- 
ceolate or  oblong,  distinctly  serrulate  with  bristle-pointed  teeth, 
mostly  shining  on  both  sides  but  often  hairy  on  midrib  beneath ; 
flowers  on  short  pedicels ;  corolla  campanulate-cylindrical,  short ; 
berries  large,  globose,  bluish-black  with  bloom,  sweet ;  the  earli- 
est to  ripen  north.  (Figured:  Bot.  Mag.  t.3434 ;  Emerson,  Trees 
and  Shrubs  of  Mass.,  ed.  5,  2:456;  (photo.)  Rep.  Maine  Agr. 
Exp.  Sta.  1898,  171.) — Dry  hills  and  woods  Newfoundland  and 
the  Saskatchewan  southward  to  New  Jersey  and  Illinois. 

Var.  angustifolium,  Gray,  (Man.  ed.  I,  261)  A  dwarf  form, 
with  more  decidedly  lanceolate  leaves.  V.  angustifolium,  Ait. 
1.  c.,  V.  salirinum,  Aschers,  1.  c.,  not  Cham.  Summits  of  moun- 
tains northern  New  York  and  New  England,  Quebec  to  north 
shore  of  Lake  Superior  and  northward. 

This  species  is  extremely  variable  in  size  and  shape  of  fruit 
and  flowers,  but  with  the  exception  of  the  variety  noted,  and  the 
black  fruited  form  often  associated  with  it,  which  is  set  off  as 


V.  nigrum,  the  variations  do  not  appear  sufficiently  constant  to 
warrant  making  separations.  In  general,  the  plant  is  of  low, 
semi-prostrate  habit,  is  extremely  prolific  and  thrives  on  dry 
sandy  hills.  It  furnishes  the  bulk  of  the  blueberries  found  in  the 
eastern  markets.  When  mown  down  or  burned,  the  new  erect 
shoots  produce,  the  following  year,  a  long  spike-like  mass  of 
bloom  and  fruit  which  may  be  stripped  off  by  handfuls. 
Because  of  its  character,  and  early  ripening  habit,  it  is  known  on 
the  blueberry  plains  as  "early  sweet"  or  "low  sweet." 


V.     PENNSYLVANICUM. 


V*  nigrum,  Britton,  (Low  Black  Blueberry) 

Britton,  Mem.  Torr.  Club  5 :  252,  1894. 

(Synonym:  V.  Pennsylvanicum  var.  nigrum,  Wood,  Bot.  and 
Flor.  199,  1873.) 


33 


Low  shrub,  similar  to  V . 
Pennsylvanicum  and  often 
associated  with  it.  Leaves 
oblong-lanceolate  to  obovato, 
finely  serrulate,  green  above, 
pale  and  glaucous  beneath  ; 
flowers  few  in  the  clusters, 
white  or  cream  colored,  ap- 
pearing earlier  than  those  of 
Pennsylvanicum;  berries 
rather  small,  black  without 
bloom.  (Figured:  (photo.) 
Rep.  Maine  Exp.  Sta.,  1898, 
171.) — Dry  rocky  soil, 
Maine  to  New  Jersey,  west- 
ward to  Michigan. 

The  species  is  distin- 
guished from  the  preceding 
by  the  glaucous  under  sur- 
faces of  the  leaves  and  by  the 
characteristic  shining,  black- 
fruit.  It  is  usually  found  in 
colonies  in  the  same  situa- 
tions as  Pennsylvanicum; 
but  occasionally  the  two 
species  will  be  found  intermingled. 


v.   NIG  HUM. 


V.  Canadense,  Richards.      (Canada  Blueberry) 

(Named  by  Kalm  in  Herb  Leche,  now  in  Herb  Banks;  Rich- 
ardson, in  Frankl.  1st  Jour.  ed.  2,  App.  p.  12;  Hooker,  Fl.  Bor. 
Am.  2:32.  Synonym:  V.  album,  Lam.  Encyc.  1:73,  not  L.) 

Erect  shrubs,  1-2  feet  high,  the  crowded  branchlets  downy- 
pubescent;  leaves  oblong-lanceolate  or  elliptical,  entire,  downy 
both  sides ;  corolla  short,  open-campanulate,  greenish-white, 
often  tinged  with  red ;  berries  globose  or  oblate,  blue  with  much 
bloom,  of  excellent  flavor.  (Figured:  Bot.  Mag.  ^3446.) — 
Low  woods,  Hudson's  Bay  to  Bear  Lake  and  the  northern  Rocky 
Mountains;  south  to  New  England,  mountains  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Illinois. 

3 


34 


This  species,  commonly  known  as  ''sour  top"  or  "velvet  leaf" 
because  of  the  character  of  its  foliage  and  the  somewhat  acid 
fruit,  usually  grows  in  rather  moist,  rocky,  not  swampy  locali- 
ties. The  fruit  is  larger  and  more  acid  than  the  other  low  forms 
and  matures  from  one  to  three  weeks  later.  It  is  not  so  popular 
in  the  general  market  as  the  sweeter  kinds,  but  it  is  very  prolific 
and  its  lateness  in  ripening  is  a  point  in  its  favor. 


V.    CANADENSE. 

V.  hirsuturr, T;ii(kley,  (Hairy  Blueberry,  Bear  Huckleberry) 

Buckley,  Am.  Jour.  Sci.  45 :  175,  1843 ;  Sargent,  Card.  &  For. 

2:365- 

i 

Low  shrub,  1-2  feet  high,  the  stems  green,  grooved,  obscurely 

4-arigled,  thoss  cf  the  current  year  covered  with  stout,  spreading, 
white    hairs;    leaves  ovate,  entire  and,  together  with   the   pure 


35 

white,  campanulate,  corolla,  the  calyx  and  the  dark  blue  globose 
fruit,  hirsute.  (Figured:  Card,  and  For.  2:  365.) — Mountains 
of  Cherokee  County,  North  Carolina,  (Buckley,  Sargent)  ;  Tal- 
lulah  Falls  Canon,  Georgia,  ( J.  K.  Small)  ;  Cade's  Cove  Moun- 
tains, Tennessee,  (A.  Ruth). 

This  species,  discovered  about  1840  by  B.  S.  Buckley  "in  the 
mountains  of  Cherokee  County,"  North  Carolina,  was  lost  sight 
of  for  half  a  century  until  re-discovered  by  Sargent  at  Robbins- 
ville,  Graham  County,  North  Carolina  in  1887,  when  it  was 
transferred  to  the  Arnold  Arboretum.  Practically  nothing  is 
known  of  its  geographical  distribution  or  habitat.  It  is  readily 
distinguished,  however,  by  the  hairy  flower  and  fruit. 

The  fruit  is  described  as  fully  as  large  as  that  of  Gaylussacia 
resinosa,  shining  black,  and  of  an  agreeable  flavor.  Under  culti- 
vation not  so  densely  hairy  as  in  the  wild  state.  Gives  promise 
of  being  valuable  under  cultivation  as  one  of  the  latest  of  its  kind 
to  ripen, — at  the  Arnold  Arboretum  the  best  period  of  fruitage 
being  the  middle  of  August,  berries  remaining  into  September. 
It  is  probable  that  good  results  might  be  obtained  by  hybridizing 
with  V.  corymbosum  or  V.  Canadcnse. 

V.    myrtilloides,  Hook.  (Gray). 
Gray,  Man.,  ed.  5,  291 ;   Syn.  Fl.  2:  24,  not  Michx. 

(Synonym:  V.  membranaceum,  Douglas  ined.) 
An  erect  branching  shrub  mostly  glabrous  throughout,  the 
twigs  slightly  angled ;  leaves  oval,  oblong  or  ovate,  acute,  serrate, 
membranous,  green  both  sides  but  not  shining,  1-2  in.  long: 
calyx  entire;  corolla  depressed-globular,  yellowish  or  greenish 
white;  berries  large,  oblate,  black,  rather  acid.  (Figured:  Bot. 
Mag.  1.3447.)  Moist  woods,  Lake  Superior  to  the  coast  of 
Oregon  and  British  Columbia. 

The  berries  are  large  ^2-^4  inch,  oblate,  with  broad  calyx;  of 
excellent  flavor ;  much  relished  by  the  natives  of  the  northwest. 
(Howell,  in  Case  Bot.  Index,  1881,  38.) 

V*  ovalifolium,  Smith. 

Smith,  in  Rees  Cycl.  no.  2,  1817;   Hook,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  2:33. 
A  slender,  straggling,    branched    shrub  3-12  feet    high,  with 
slender,  more  or  less  angled  branchlets ;  leaves  oval,  obtuse,  glab- 
rous, green  above,  glaucous  beneath ;  flowers  solitary,  on  short 


36 

recurved  pedicels,  corolla  globose-ovoid;  berry  large  (^J-}4 
inch)  bluish-purple,  with  bloom.  (Figured:  Hook.  Fl.  Bor, 
Am.  2:33,  1.127) — Woods,  Quebec  to  Michigan,  Oregon  and 
Alaska. 

This  species  is  very  abundant  in  the  northwest,  forming  a 
large  part  of  the  undergrowth  along  the  southern  coast  of 
Alaska,  (Funston)  ;  but,  like  many  other  plants  of  a  similar 
range  it  extends  eastward  through  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes 
and  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  The  berries,  rather  larger  than 
peas,  are  .collected  in  great  quantities  by  the  Indians  who  use  them 
fresh  and  dry  them  for  winter.  The  exceptionally  large  berries 
and  vigorous  habit  of  this  species  suggest  its  value  for  cultiva- 
tion and  particularly  for  crossing  with  the  low  growing  species 
such  as  Pennsylvanicum  and  Canadense. 

V*  virgatum,  Ait. 
Aiton,  Hort.  Kew,  ed.  I,  2:  12,  1789. 

(Synonyms:  V .  ligustrinum,  Pursh,  Fl.  Am.  Sept.,  1 :  288r 
not  L.;  V.  fuscatum  Ker.,  Bot.  Reg.  1.302  ( ?)  ;  V.  Hlliottii, 
Chapm.,  Fl.  So.  U.  S.  260.) 

A  shrub  3-12  feet  high,  with  slender,  green  branches,  the 
young  twigs  puberulent;  leaves  narrowly  oval-oblong,  acuter 
often  mucronate,  entire  or  minutely  serrulate,  green  and  glab- 
rous above,  pale  or  glaucous  beneath,  J^-2  inches  long ;  flowers  in 
short  racemes  on  naked  twigs;  appearing  before  the  leaves; 
bracts  small,  deciduous ;  corolla  nearly  cylindrical,  white  or  pink ; 
berry  black  with  or  without  bloom.  (Figured:  Bot.  Rep.  t.iSi ; 
Bot.  Mag.  1.3522;  (as  V.  fuscatum)  Bot.  Reg.  1.302.) — Swamps, 
southern  Virginia  to  Florida  and  Louisiana. 

Var.  tenellum  (Ait.)  Gray,  (Syn.  Fl.  2:22).  A  low  form, 
mostly  less  than  2  feet,  with  smaller  leaves  and  nearly  white 
flowers  in  short  close  clusters.  (V.  tenellum,  Ait.  1.  c.,  not 
Pursh ;  V.  gale  sans  Michx.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  1 :  232 ;  V.  galiformis, 
Smith,  Rees'  Cycl.  no.  16) — Southern  Virginia  to  Arkansas, 
Florida  and  Alabama.  Probably  a  distinct  species. 

The  distinction  between  this  species  and  the  next  is  very  slight. 
It  is  probable  that,  possibly  excepting  var.  tenellum,  this  is  only 
a  southern  form  of  corymbosum  and  should  be  reduced  to 
varietal  rank,  following  Don  (Gard.  Diet.  3:  854). 


37 


V.  corymbosum,  L.  (High-bush  Blueberry,  Swamp  Huckleberry) 
Linnaeus,   Sp.  PL  350,    1753. 

(Synonym:  V.  disomorphum,  Michx.,  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  I  '.223.) 
A  tall,  straggling  shrub  4-12  feet  high,  with  yellowish-green, 
warty,  branchlets  which  later  turn  brownish;  leaves  ovate  or 
oblong  to  elliptical-lanceolate,  usually  entire ;  flowers  in  short 
racemes  on  naked  twigs ;  corolla  ovate  to  urn-shaped,  or  oblong- 
cylindrical,  white  or  pinkish;  berries  blue-black  with  much 
bloom,  of  excellent  flavor.  (Figured:  Emerson,  Trees  and 


V.    CORYMBOSUM. 

Shrubs,  ed.  5,  2:454;  Am.  Ag.  1886,  364.) — Moist  woods  or 
swamps,  Newfoundland  and  Canada  to  Michigan  and  Minne- 
sota; through  eastern  United  States  to  Louisiana;  rather  rare 
in  the  Mississippi  valley.  Exceedingly  variable,  and  numerous 
gradations  unite  the  several  varieties. 


38 

Var.  amcenum,  Gray,  (Man.,  ed.  5,  292),  a  form  with 
bristly-ciliate,  serrulate  leaves,  bright  green  both  sides,  shining 
above,  often  pubescent  on  veins  beneath.  (V.  amocnum,  Ait., 
Hort.  Kew.,  ed.  i,  2:  12;  Bot.  Rep.  1.138;  Twin.  in.  Nat.  Ord. 
2 :  83,  6 ;  Bot.  Reg.  400.  Figured,  as  V.  corymbosum,  Bot.  Mag. 
t-3433-)  Mainly  in  the  Middle  Atlantic  States. 

Var.  pallidum,  Gray,  1.  c.,  a  pale  and  glaucous  or  glaucescent 
form,  with  or  without  some  pubescence ;  ovary  more  completely 
inferior,  generally  low ;  otherwise  resembling  amcenum.  (V .  pal- 
lidum, Ait.  1.  c. ;  Gray,  Man.  ed.  I,  262.  V.  albiflorum,  Hook, 
Bot.  Mag.  1.3428.  V.  Constablcei,  Gray,  Am.  Jour.  Sci.  42 :  42). 
Common  in  mountainous  regions  southward. 

Var.  fuscatum,  Gray,  (Syn.  Fl.  2:23),  a  tall  form  with  the 
mature  and  entire  leaves  fuscous-pubescent  beneath ;  flowers 
virgately  somewhat  spicate  on  the  naked  flowering  twigs.  (V. 
fuscatum,  Ait.,  1.  c.)  Alabama  and  Florida  to  Louisiana  and 
Arkansas. 

V.  corymbosum  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  species  both  for 
fruit  and  as  an  ornamental  shrub.  It  thrives  in  the  garden  and 
is  readily  susceptible  of  improvement  by  cultivation.  Toward 
the  south  it  approaches  V.  virgatum,  Ait.,  and  var.  pallidum  may 
be  confused  with  V.  vacillans,  Kalm. 


V.  atrococcum,  Heller,  (Black  Blueberry) 
Heller,  Torr.  Bull.  21:24,   1894. 

(Synonyms:  V.  disomorphum,  Bigej.  Fl.  Bost,  ed.  2,  151,  not 
Michx. ;  V.  corymbosum  var.  atrococcum,  Gray,  Man.,  ed.  5, 
292.) 

A  branching  shrub  with  shreddy  bark,  similar  to  V.  corym- 
bosum. Leaves  oval  or  oblong,  dark  green  above,  densely 
pubescent  beneath,  entire,  acute,  often  mucronate;  flowers  in 
short  racemes,  appearing  with  the  leaves;  berry  black  without 
bloom,  sweet.  Moist  woods  and  swamps,  Canada  to  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  Jersey. 


39 


V.  crassifolium,  An  dr. 

Andrews,  Bot.  Rep.  1.105,  1798. 

(Synonyms:  V.  carnosum,  Pers.  Syn.  PL  1:479;  V.  myrti- 
folium,  Michx.  Fl.  i :  228.) 

Slender,  trailing  shrub ;  stems  2-3  feet  long,  glabrous ;  leaves* 
small,  54 ~y^  inch  long,  oval  or  narrowly  oblong,  sparsely  serru- 
late or  entire,  shining ;  flowers  few,  almost  sessile,  in  small 
axillary  clusters,  nearly  white,  or  tinged  with  red ;  berries  black. 
(Figured:  Bot.  Rep.  1.105  ;  Bot.  Mag.  1.1152.) — Sandy  bogs, 
near  the  coast,  North  Carolina  to  Georgia. 

Useful  for  the  shrubberv  border,  south. 


V.  uligiriosum,  L.  (Bog  Bilberry) 
Linnaeus,   Sp.   PL  350,   1753. 

(Synonym:    V.  gaultherioides,  Bigel.  New  Eng.  Med.  Jour. 

5:3350 

A  stiff,  much  branched  shrub  ^2-2  feet  high;  leaves  thick, 
obovate  or  oval,  obtuse  or  retuse,  ^2-1  inch  long,  nearly  sessile; 
flowers  2-4  together,  or  sometimes  solitary ;  calyx  4-parted, 
sometimes  5-parted ;  corolla  urn-shaped,  4  or  5-lobed,  pink ; 
stamens  8-10;  berries  bluish-black  with  bloom.  (Figured:  Fl. 
Dan.  1.231 ;  Reichenb.  Ic.  Germ.  17,  t.n68;  Sowerby,  Eng.  Bot. 
6:878  (Ibid.  ed.  i,  9:581);  Deakin,  Flor.  Brit.  2,  19,  630; 
Schlecht.,  Flor.  Deutch.  20:2037;  Pratt,  Fl.  PL  3:351.)  — 
Labrador  to  New  England ;  mountainous  regions  of  New  York ; 
Lake  Superior  to  Alaska.  Also  in  northern  Europe  and  Asia. 

Usually  considered  a  high  mountain  species,  but  found  by  the 
writer  on  the  blueberry  barrens  of  eastern  Maine  and  reported 
as  abundant  along  the  ledgy  shores  of  the  Carrabassett  River 
(Fernald)  and  along  the  St.  John  at  Fort  Kent  (Furbish)  in 
the  same  state.  The  varieties  miicroncituni  Herder,  and  micro- 
pkyllum,  Lange,  the  former  from  Alaska  and  the  latter  from  the 
west  coast  .of  Greenland,  lat.  70°  (Schuchert  and  White,  Torr. 
Bui.  27 :  66)  are  not  of  importance. 

The  plant  is  useful  for  the  shrubbery  border  in  cold  wet 
locations,  and  its  fruit  though  of  poor  quality,  is  used  for  food 
by  the  natives  of  the  northwest. 


V*  erythrinum,  Hook. 
Hooker,  Bot.  Mag.  1.4688,   1852. 

An  erect,  glabrous,  evergreen  shrub  with  bright  red  twigs; 
leaves  ovate,  obtuse,  coriaceous,  entire;  flowers  in  long,  one- 
sided, terminal  racemes ;  corolla  cylindraceous,  5 -toothed,}^  inch 
long,  purple,  reddish.  (Figured:  Bot.  Mag.  1.4688;  Lemaire, 
Jard.  Fl.  4:  364;  Jour,  of  Hort.  34:  39.) — Mountainous  regions, 
Java. 

Sent  to  England  in  1852  and  since  grown  by  various  nursery- 
men as  a  greenhouse  pot-plant.  It  is  a  strong  plant,  furnishing 
an  abundance  of  bloom  in  December  and  January.  Not  remark- 
able, but  worthy  a  place  in  collections.  A  very  distinct  type, 
the  only  other  representative  of  which,  so  far  as  observed,  is 
V.  Rollisoni,  Hook,  (Bot.  Mag.  1.4612). 

V*  ovatum,  Pursh . 
Pursh,  Fl.  Am.  Sept.,  1 :  290,  1814. 

(Synonyms:  V.  lanceolatum  Dunal  in  D.  C.  Prod.  7:570; 
Metagonia  (Pyxothamnus)  ovata,  Nutt.,  Trans.  Am.  Phil.  Soc. 
ser.  2,  8:  262.) 

An  erect,  rigid,  evergreen  shrub,  3-8  feet  high,  with  pubescent 
branchlets  ;  leaves  very  numerous,  thick,  shining,  ovate  or  oblong, 
acute,  serrate ;  flowers  numerous,  in  short  axillary  clusters,  fol- 
lowed by  dark  purple  fruit  of  agreeable  flavor.  (Figured:  Bot. 
Reg.  1.1354;  Lemaire,  Jard.  Fl.  4:424.) — Vancouver's  Island  to 
Monterey,  California. 

A  distinctly  western  species,  and  one  of  California's  most 
beautiful  hedge  plants,  but  not  well  known.  V.  ovatum  is  very 
tenacious  of  life  and  bears  pruning  well;  propagated  from 
suckers,  cuttings,  and  seeds  which  it  bears  freely.  Most  abund- 
ant on  the  northern  mountain  slopes  of  the  coast  range ;  but  also 
found  growing  luxuriantly  on  southern  slopes  exposed  to  bright 
sunlight.  (T.  H.  Douglas,  Card.  &  For.  6:  116,  1893). 

V.  arboreum,  Marshall,  ( Farkleberry ,  Sparkleberry) 
Marshall,  Arbust.  Am.  157,  1785. 

(Synonyms:  V.  diffusum,  Ait.  Bot.  Mag.  1.1607,  Batodendron 
arboreum  Nutt.,  Trans.  Am.  Phil.  Soc.  ser.  2,  8:  261  and  Sylva, 


41 

Spreading  shrub  or  small  tree  6-25  feet  high,  with  glabrous 
or  somewhat  pubescent  branchlets;  leaves  thinnish-coriaceous, 
smooth  and  shining  above,  obovate  to  oblong,  entire  to  obscurely 
denticulate ;  flowers  profuse,  axillary  and  leafy  racemose  ;  corolla 
white,  5-lobed ;  berry  small,  globose,  rather  astringent.  (Figured: 
Lodd.  Bot.  Cab.  t.i88s;  as  V.  diffusum,  Bot.  Mag.  11607.) — 
Sandy  soil  along  river  banks,  Florida  and  Texas  to  North  Caro- 
lina and  Illinois. 

The  flowers  are  solitary  and  axillary  along  the  terminal 
branchlets,  each  pedicel  being  curved  near  the  flower.  The 
leaves  on  these  flowering  branchlets  are  only  about  half  the  size 
of  other  leaves  on  the  same  branches,  though  in  other  respects 
similar.  Some  regard  these  leaves  as  bracts,  and  regard  the 
inflorescence  as  "leafy  racemose." 

The  species  was  introduced  into  the  Kew  Gardens  in  1765  by 
John  Cree.  It  forms  an  irregular  shrub  too  diffuse  and  strag- 
gling to  be  of  value  except  in  masses,  for  which  purpose  it  is 
useful  at  the  south. 


V*  stamineum,  L.  (Deerberry,  Squaw  Huckleberry) 
Linnaeus,   Sp.   PI.  350,   1758. 

(Synonyms:  V.  elevatum  Solander;  Dunal  in  DC.  Prod., 
7:  567.  V.  album,  Pursh,  Fl.  Am.  Sept.  1 :  285,  not  L.) 

A  divergently  branched  shrub  2-5  feet  high  with  pubescent  or 
glabrous  twigs;  leaves  oval  to  oblong-lanceolate,  acute,  entire, 
pale,  glaucous  or  sometimes  slightly  pubescent  beneath,  1-4 
inches  long,  5/2-1^2  inches  wide;  flowers  very  numerous  in  large, 
leafy-bracted  racemes;  corolla  green,  5-cleft;  (anthers  and  style 
exserted ;  fruit  large,  globose  or  pyriform,  greenish  or  yellowish, 
few-seeded,  almost  inedible.  (Figured:  Bot.  Rep.  1263.  V. 
stamineum  H.  B.  &  K.  ^353,  the  V.  Kunthianum,  Klotzsch,  has 
shorter  anther  tubes  and  a  hairy  ovary.) — Dry  woods  and 
thickets  Maine  to  Minnesota,  south  to  Florida  and  Louisiana; 
rare  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 

The  Deerberry  is  found  over  a  wide  range  in  the  northern 
states  and  in  the  mountains  south.  It  is  also  recorded  as  one 
of  the  principal  plants  of  the  dry  pine  barrens  of  southern 
Georgia  (Harper).  It  is  usually  found  naturally  on  gravelly 


42 

soils  in  the  shade  of  deciduous  trees — particularly  black  oaks — 
but  will  thrive  on  any  good,  well  drained  soil  and  is  a  valuable 
shade-enduring  ornamental  shrub. 

Var.  melanocarpum,  Mohr,  (Southern  Gooseberry,  Mohr, 
Torn  Bui.  24:25,  1897).  Shrub  2-3  feet  high,  branched  from 
near  the  base ;  leaves  as  in  the  type,  flowers  in  loosely  4-8 
flowered  elongated  racemes ;  berries  twice  the  size  of  the  typical 
form,  shining  black,  with  a  juicy  purple  pulp,  sweetish,  with 
slightly  tart  pleasant  flavor.  Rocky  shaded  hills  in  the  mountain 
region  of  central  and  northern  Alabama.  (Mohr).1 

Supplementary  List  of  American  Species. 

The  following  species  from  various  parts  of  America  have  been 
described  but  as  a  rule  are  little  known : 

From  Mexico:  angustifolium  Benth  (not  Ait.);  confertum, 
H.  B.  &  K. ;  cor  datum,  Hemsl. ;  eriocladum  Dunal ;  gemininorum, 
H.  B.  &  K. ;  Kunthianum,  Klotzsch ;  leucanthemum,  Schlecht. ; 
micranthum,  Dunal ;  Schlechtendallii,  G.  Don ;  villosum,  Smith. 

From  Central  America:  consanguineum,  Klotzsch;  pachy- 
phyllum,  Hemsl. ;  secundum,  Klotzsch. 

From  South  America;  afhne, . Klotzsch ;  Alaternoides,  H.  B. 
&  K. ;  caracasanum,  H.  B.  &  K.;didymanthum,  Dun.,  (Rusby)2 ; 
floribundum,  H.  B.  &  K.,  (Rusby)  ;  penaoides,  H.  B.  &  K., 
(Rusby)  ;  pernettyoides,  Griseb.  (Rusby). 

From  the  West  Indies :  assimile  Wright ;  Cubcnse  Griseb. ; 
meridionale  bw ;  Poasanum,  Donn.  Sm.3 

Tire  OUTLOOK. 

As  has  been  shown,  the  vacciniums  are  widely  distributed, 
particularly  in  eastern  and  northern  United  States  and  Canada ; 
and  there  are  vast  areas  which,  while  bearing  a  considerable 
number  of  bushes  and  yielding  a  profitable  return  to  the  few 
people  who  make  a  practice  of  gathering  the  wild  fruit,  are  not 
utilized  as  they  might  be.  The  systematic  treatment  of  the  wild 
lands  as  described  in  the  foregoing  pages  might  with  profit  be 
extended  to  many  other  sections. 

There  are  also  large  areas,  otherwise  worthless,  which  might 


1  Professor  Mohr  in  a  personal  letter  to  the  writer  states  that  he  will  raise  this 
variety  to  specific  rank  in  a  forthcoming  work— Alabama  Plant  Life. 
3  Collected  by  Rusby,  Torr.  Bui.  20: 138. 
3  Species  described  by  Donnel  Smith  in  Bot.  Gaz.  24:395, 1897. 


43 

without  doubt  be  made  to  yield  good  returns  if,  in  some  way,  a 
growth  of  blueberries  could  be  started — either  by  setting  bushes 
or  by  scattering  seed.  The  most  valuable  species  for  this  pur- 
pose are  Pennsylvanicum,  Canadense,  and  vacillans.  Although 
this  suggestion  may  be  regarded  as  visionary,  it  is  quite  within 
the  range  of  possibilities. 

Another  phase  of  the  subject  which  is  worthy  of  careful 
attention  is  that  of  domestication  and  the  improvement  of  types 
by  selection.  During  the  last  half  century  the  cultivation  of  the 
cranberry  has  become  an  important  and  well  established  industry 
and  several  valuable  types  have  been  produced.  Little  has  ever 
been  attempted,  however,  in  the  garden  culture  of  the  blueberry ; 
though  there  is  no  doubt  that  satisfactory  results  may  be 
obtained.  The  fruit  in  its  wild  state  is  far  superior  to  that  of 
most  other  small  fruits  and  is  very  susceptible  to  the  influence 
of  environment.  At  the  Maine  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
systematic  cultural  experiments  are  now  in  progress  and  in 
Massachusetts  cultivation  has  been  practiced  by  amateurs  with 
encouraging  results.  The  most  promising  species  for  this  pur- 
pose, as  well  as  for  ornamental  planting,  is  the  high-bush 
blueberry  Vaccinium  corymbosum.  The  natural  varieties  and 
improved  forms  of  this  species  may  readily  be  perpetuated  by 
division  or  by  grafting. 

In  general,  it  is  probable  that  within  a  very  few  years  a  race 
of  garden  blueberries,  rivaling  in  importance  some  of  the.  best 
of  the  other  small  fruits,  will  be  placed  before  the  public,  and 
the  culture  of  the  blueberry  will  be  as  much  a  matter  of  course 
as  is  that  of  the  blackberry  or  the  raspberry. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The  literature  of  the  Vacciniums  is  fragmentary  and  widely 
scattered.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  collate  all  of  the  refer- 
ences to  the  genus,  but  below  is  given  a  list  of  the  more  impor- 
tant monographs  which  are  usually  accessible  in  this  country, 
together  with  the  leading  articles  in  horticultural  books  and 
journals. 


44 


Monographs  and  Floras. 
AITON,  W.  T.     Hortus  Kewensis  ed.  2,  5  vols.,  1810-13.     See 

2 : 355-9- 
BIGELOW,   JACOB.     Florula  Bostoniensis,   ed.  2,    1824,   see  pp. 

150-4. 

BRITTON,  N.  L.  and  BROWN,  A.     Illustrated  Flora  of  the  North- 
ern States  and  Canada,  3  vols.,  New  York, 

1897.     See  2 15/5-80. 
CHAPMAN,  A.  W.     Flora  of  the  Southern  United  States,  ed.  2, 

1883.     See  pp.  259-60. 
CLARKE,  C.  B.     Vaccinium,  in  Hooker,  Flora  of  British  India, 

7  vols.,  1882.     See  3:  451-5. 
DON,   GEORGE.     Dictionary  of  Gardening  and  Botany,  4  vols., 

1831-38.     See  3:855-860. 
DUNAL,  MICHEL  FELIX.     Vaccinium,  in  De  Candolle,  Prodro- 

mus,  7:566-576,  1839. 

GRAY,  ASA.     Synoptical  Flora  of  North  America,  2  :  20-26,  1887. 
H.  B.  and  K.     (HUMBOLDT,  BONPLAND  and  KUNTH),     Voyage 

de  Humboldt  et   Bonpland,  8  vols.,  1815-25. 

See  3  :  265  et  seq. 
HEMSLEY,    W.    BOTTING.     Biologia  centrali-americana,  Botany 

(1879-88),  5  vols.     See  2 :  30  et  seq. 
HOOKER,    WILLIAM    JACKSON.     Flora    boreali-americana,    etc., 

London,  1829-40,  2  vols.     See  2:  33  et  seq. 
HUMBOLDT,  FRIEDRICH  HEINRICH  ALEXANDER  VON,  see  H.  B. 

and  K. 
KOCH,  KARL  HEINRICH  EMIL.     Dendrologie.     Baume    .     .     . 

welche    in    Europa   .    .    .   kultivirt    werden, 

1869,  3  vols.     See  2 :  95-109. 
KUNTH,  CARL  SIGISMUND,  see  H.  B.  and  K. 
LAMARCK,  JEAN  BAPTISTE  ANTOINE.     Encyclopedic  methodique 

Botanique,    Paris,    1783-1808,   8  vols.       See 

i :  63  et  seq. 
MICHAUX,  ANDRE.     Flora  boreali-americana,  Paris,  1803  (ed.  2, 

1820),  2  vols.     See  I  :  227-235. 
NUTTALL,   THOMAS.     Transactions  of  American  Philosophical 

Society,  ser  2,  8 :  261  et  seq.,  1842. 
PURSH,    FREDERICK.      Flora   Americanae-septentrionalis   .    .    . 

London,  1814,  2  vols.     See  2:  284-290. 


45 

Current  Literature. 

AMDS,  MARCUS  F.  The  Culture  of  Blueberries.  Am.  Cult. 
Aug.  1898. 

ASCHERSON  and  MAGNUS.  Die  weissfriichtige  Heidelbeere.  Ver- 
handl.  Zool.  Bot.  Gesell.,  Vienna,  1891,  679. 

ASCHERSON  and  MAGNUS.  "Die  Weisse  Heidelbeere  (V acti- 
nium Myrtillus,  L.  var.  leucocarpa,  Hause), 
nicht  identische  mit  der  durch  Sclerotinia  bac- 
caruni  (Sch.)  Rehm,  verursachten  Sclerotien 
Krankheit."  Ber.  der  deutschen  Bot.  Gesel- 
Isch.,  1890,  387-400. 

BAILEY,  L.  H.  Cape  Cod  Cranberries.  Am.  Card.  1 1 :  583-6, 
1890.  Cultural  notes. 

BONGARD,  HEINRICH  GUSTAV,  Sitk.  525,  "Observations  sur  la 
vegetation  de  Tile  de  Sitcha."  Mem.  Acad. 
Petersb.  Ser.  VI,  II,  (St.  Petersburg,  1833) 

CARD,  F.  W.,  "Huckleberries,"  Bush  Fruits,  491-501. 

DAWSON,  JACKSON,  "Huckleberries  and  Blueberries."  Count. 
Gent.,  1885,  p.  660.  Detailed  notes  on  the 
culture  of  seedlings  of  this  class. 

DAWSON,  JACKSON,  The  Cultivation  of  Huckleberries.  Gard. 
and  For.  1 :  183-185,  1888. 

FERNALD,  M.  L.,  The  Distribution  of  the  Bilberries  of  New  Eng- 
land. Rhodora,  2  :  187-190,  1900.  Refers 
particularly  to  V .  ccespitosum  and  V .  uligin- 
osum. 

FARLOW,  W.  G.,  White  Huckleberries.  Gard.  and  For.  2 :  50 
and  6 :  363. 

FULLER,  A.  $.,  Huckleberries.  Small  Fruit  Culturist,  ed.  I, 
245-250. 

GERARDE,  JOHN,  Herballe,  ed.  2,  pp.  1415-19,  figs.  6,  1633. 
Interesting  historical  notes. 

HARVEY,  F.  L.,  The  Cranberries  of  Maine.  Trans.  Maine  Pom. 
Soc'y  1895,  49-54. 

HILL,  E.  J.,  V.  vacillans  with  White  Fruit.  Gard.  and  For. 
8:503,  1895. 

JACK,  J.  G.,  The  Cultivated  Blueberries.  Gard.  and  For.  7 :  294, 
1894. 

LAWTON,  C.  D.,  The  Value  of  Huckleberry  Swamps,  Rep.  Mich. 
Hort.  Soc'y,  1881,  231. 


46 

MACOUN,  J.    M.,   Notes  on    F.    Vitis-Idaea.      Card,   and   For. 

2:508,  1889. 
MAURY,  PAUL,  "Vaccinium  de    France — sur   les  variations    de 

Structure  des."     Jour,  de  Bot.  1 :  104-8,  115- 

117,  ill. 
MUNSON,  W.  M.,  The  Blueberry  in  Maine.     Rep.  Maine  Agr'l 

Exp.  Sta.  1898,  164-172. 
MUNSON,  W.  M.,    Some    Little    Known    Fruits.       Am.    Card. 

20:  852,  1899.    (Same,  Trans.  Me.  Pom.  Soc'y 

1899,  36-38) 

MUNSON,  W.  M.,  The  Blueberry — Its  Past,  Present,  and  Future. 
PARKINSON,    JOHN,    Whortleberries.       Theatrum    Botanicum, 

Chap.  46,  pp.  1455-9,  1640. 
PECK,  CHAS.  H.,  Huckleberries  and  Blueberries.     Count.  Gent. 

1888,  p.  1 68.     Popular  notes  on  the  botany  of 

several  species  of  Vaccinium  and  Gaylussacia. 
SARGENT,  C.  S.,  Notes  on  Vaccinium  hirsutum.     Card,  and  For. 

2:364,  fig.  i,  1899. 

STURTEVANT,  E.  LEWIS,  Huckleberries  and  Blueberries — Gaylus- 
sacia and  Vaccinium,  sp.     Trans.  Mass.  Hort. 

Soc'y  1890,  pp.  17-38. 
WORONIN,    Ueber    die    Sclerotien    Krankheit    der    Vaccinieen 

Beeren,  1888. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Albino   forms    18 

American   species    3.  42 

Bibliography    43 

Blueberry  barrens  1 1 

Blueberry  industry    12 

Blueberry  rake   15 

Botanical   notes    20 

Burning  over  the  plains   14 

Classification,   horticultural    23 

natural    21 

Characters  of  the  genus   20 

Common  names    i 

Cultivation,  history  of   10 

Distribution  of  species    2 

Financial  importance  of  the  blueberry 17 

Historical  notes   3 

Important  species    25 

Key  to  the  natural  groups   21 

Names,  common    i 

Natural  groups  of  species 21 

Outlook,  the   42 

Picking  the  fruit  15 

Propagation 8 

Rake,  the  blueberry   15 

Seedlings,  method  of  starting 9 

Species,  descriptions  of 25,  42 

arboreum    40 

atrococcum    38 

caespitosum    30 

Canadense    33 

corymbosum    37 

crassifolium  39 

erythrinum 40 

erythrocarpon   28 

hirsutum  34 

macrocarpon    26 

Myrsinites    29 


48 

Species,  descriptions  of :  PAGE 

myrtilloides   35 

Myrtillus    30 

nigrum    .  -. 32 

nitidum  28 

ovalifolium 35 

ovatum    40 

Oxycoccus   25 

parvifolium    27 

Pennsyl vanicum  31 

stamineum   41 

uliginosum  39 

vacillans   29 

virgatum  36 

Vitis-Idaea  26 

Use  of  vaccinium  for  ornamental  planting 7 

Uses  of  the  fruit    4 

Value  of  the  crop  17 

White  blueberries   .  18 


Syracuse.  N.  Y. 
PAT.  JMJ.  21.  1908 


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